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| Source: Financial Times |
The euro crisis and the broader economic malaise swallowing the developed world have eroded people’s trust in the political establishment and rendered parties the subject of public opprobrium. Since both left and right parties are seen to be responsible for the mess in which we find ourselves now, neither would have commanded sufficient respect to lead us out of it. Therein lies the appeal of technocratic governments, whose knowledge and detachment from petty everyday politics has enabled them to sweep up popular approval from under the feet of the traditional parties, casting doubt on the traditional link between elections and legitimacy. However, not everyone has warmed to the idea of an unelected government and political commentators have decried the suspension of democracy. The Economist argues that technocrats may know exactly what sort of fiscal adjustment is necessary to extract a country from financial ruin, however will not be so adept at distributing the necessary economic pain without the political know-how of politicians. Furthermore, the fact that their legitimacy rests solely on respect and personal clout means that it will be harder for them to canvass support for painful economic measures without an electoral mandate. Normally the public would accept such measures because the legitimacy of the governing party would translate into legitimacy for its policies.
However, the fact that in Italy 53% of the population favours a technocratic government and are prepared to accept tough measures which would move Italy away from the brink of financial ruin, paints a different picture. The caretaker Prime Minister Mario Monti has made a considerable effort to include groups which have traditionally been marginalised and neglected on the political arena, namely women and young people. It can be said that the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi made a valiant attempt to bring a hybrid of these two groups into the political system by stuffing his cabinet with young women, provided they were pretty of course. Unsurprisingly that failed to convince the Italian public of the seriousness of his intentions and did precious little to enhance his legitimacy. Furthermore, Monti’s technocratic government is not operating above democracy. It still had to win the confidence of parliament and will have to work hard to garner the support of elected politicians (who no doubt are relishing the opportunity to use unelected professors as scapegoats for their own failings) to implement its ambitious reform programme. The assumption that elections provide a sort of carte blanche in terms of policy legitimacy to politicians is overly simplistic; undoubtedly the extreme situation has played its part in demonising the whole political establishment, however one must not underestimate the clout that impartiality and expertise can wield, for the better. It was not by chance that Greek philosophers such as Aristotle feared the tyranny of democracy and sought to balance it with wise and dispassionate rulers.
Without entering into a philosophical debate about the merits of democracy there is another reason why technocratic governments ought to be seen as more than a mere stopgap in times of emergency. As the traditional mainstream political parties have been disparaged to such an extent as to leave a gaping political vacuum in Italy and elsewhere, extremist parties at both ends of the spectrum are eager to step in. History teaches us that extremist ideas have a particular appeal in times of hardship, and the rise of various extreme right and left parties throughout Europe is testament to this. In Greece the political extremes collectively muster more support than either of the two mainstream parties, and in Italy the Northern League is relishing the opportunity to return to the opposition ranks, presumably so that it may pander to the extremist streaks of its electorate. In contrast to the past, extremist parties in creditor and debtor nations alike, are railing against the EU in addition to their more traditional themes of immigration and globalisation. Given that Brussels is largely seen as the cause of many of Europe’s ills which are reverberating across the continent, this populist stance is one which is likely to pay hefty political dividends as growth falters and unemployment rises.
Mainstream political parties may be complacent about their superior knowledge of the meandering corridors of power and tortuous machinery of government, however they must not overestimate the legitimacy their electoral mandate confers upon them. If they adopt an overly obstructionist stance to a technocrat's reform programme they will further chip away at the infinitesimal amount of public respect they still hold, and pave the way for nefarious extremist ideas to take hold of disillusioned voters.
