Democracy with a King who wins every election
Illustration by Gemini AI What’s common to Donald J Trump, Narendra D Modi, Vladimir V Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, and Benjamin Netanyahu? They are all democratically elected autocrats, though the nature of democracy varies from country to country. Since America doesn’t permit more than two terms for a President, Trump will have to quit at the end of his present term. All others are likely to continue to cling to their positions till the end of their respective term on earth. That is one central feature of autocracy: projection of an image of being the “indispensable leader” or the sole Messiah of the nation. This is done typically by involving a mob of supporters who use violence to intimidate opponents like journalists, whistle-blowers, and critics. Hitler and Mussolini employed this method very effectively. Our present-day autocrats too do the same. With the help of these supporters, the autocrats will get whatever they want including votes. Democracy is rendered absolute...
