We live in a flawed democracy, but don’t you dare complain about it – The Irish News

Is Stormont’s unaccountable system of government truly democratic? The Civil Liberties Union’s classification of European governments suggests not.

He argues that below the level of full-fledged democracies are so-called defective democracies.

These are states that have open and fair elections, but they have significant governance deficiencies and an underdeveloped political culture. Stormont seems to fit well into this category.

Nearly 60 years after the civil rights campaign for democracy began, we are back where we started—a flawed democracy, along with countries like Mongolia, Botswana, and Thailand.

Welcome to going back in time.

Where, you ask, is the evidence for such a dim view of Stormont? You may have noticed some important developments in the past week.

In a farcical system in which members of the coalition government say they hold each other to account, the First Minister told a “vetting” committee that her role in government could be kept separate from her party’s policies.

She therefore refused to answer some questions, but seemed happy with others, which the DUP had kindly provided in advance. Presumably to ensure her happiness, the chairman of the Alliance committee met with her privately before the meeting.

The Deputy First Minister did not even attend the committee. She may have hoped to avoid questions about the DUP’s secret meetings with Sinn Féin, which was contrary to party policy at the time. Or perhaps she was afraid of questions about ongoing meetings between DUP ministers and representatives of illegal, loyalist paramilitary groups.

The PSNI are under so much political pressure that they turn a blind eye to these groups, but to demonstrate political impartiality they also refuse to say whether the IRA Army Council still exists (even though they confirmed its existence shortly before). Democracies don’t get more flawed than this.

This flawed system has serious consequences for Stormont administration and policy. In administration, the NI Audit Office recently concluded that more than four years after a costly investigation into the Renewable Heating Initiative (RHI) fiasco, Stormont had only implemented 26 of 42 recommendations.

The rest will probably never be implemented, which can reasonably be seen as a significant management weakness.

The auditors also found that civil servants had become worse at keeping records (why bother if no one is accountable for anything?) and that Stormont also failed to implement a recommendation that ministers should be required to read a bill before they pass it. executive body. (Literacy rates at Stormont may be to blame.)

Of course, the head ignored the report of the Accounts Chamber, so what is the point of the Accounts Chamber?

In developing the policy, the executive branch published a draft Program of Government (PP), which did not have a single measurable goal. It was less a program than a populist political manifesto on behalf of the four executive parties. Since its publication, individual ministers have made their own party political broadcasts, which have nothing to do with the National Government Party.

For example, the DUP Education Secretary recently announced plans to effectively raise the school leaving age to 18, although the PfG had no plans for the education system. He also excluded west Belfast and Strabane from a program to raise academic standards, and most of his planned investment in schools is east of Bann. (It’s just like the good old days).

Sinn Féin’s economy minister’s planned expansion of Ulster University’s Magee campus received a passing mention in PfG, but it was not linked to any higher education plan overall. Magee’s expansion will cost around £700m, but UU still owes the Strategic Investment Board £159m.

Despite promised funding from London and Dublin, the project will still be £300 million short. The PfG did not mention this.

Despite these setbacks, Stormont has support in Dublin, London, Brussels and Washington. Governments there are happy to witness what is being called a rollback of democracy, provided Sinn Féin and the DUP can keep the place under control and away from Russian or Chinese influence.

Stormont’s backsliding on democracy is perhaps best illustrated by recent comments from the executive that show how out of touch it has become with the lives of ordinary people.

In response to criticism of Belfast’s growing traffic chaos (a problem created by the Executive), the response was: “What are you complaining about?”

So stop moaning. If you don’t like it here, you can always go to Mongolia, Botswana or Thailand. You will feel at home there, because complaining is also not allowed.

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