The rise of Trump and Brexit highlight an ailing system. But tests for politicians and voters could make a differenceThe election of Donald Trump and the Brexit referendum have together tested the limits of people’s faith in democracy. Many have asked if the results were warped by fake news, or by unaccountable tech companies. The referendum debate has left the UK government in a Catch-22 situation. If politicians were to sanction a rerun of the election, it would completely delegitimise the original Brexit vote. If they choose not to rerun the vote, the voices of the sceptics will likely never be silenced. Either way, democracy becomes weaker.In the US, the coalition of media figures, political leaders and ordinary people criticising the election undermines the authority of the US head of state and erodes the legitimacy of democracy further. Continue reading…

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/may/02/democracy-crisis-plan-trump-brexit-system-politicans-voters