A discredited system - Let us revive our debased democracy

Tomorrow’s elections will be an assessment of politicians and their policies. They will be an assessment of how promises were, or were not, delivered.

They will be an assessment of individuals and of parties and of how they used or misused power, of how they realised or squandered opportunity, of how they honoured or set aside the mandate entrusted to them at the last round of elections.

The European elections will be an assessment of the myriad, increasingly diverse parties and the tomorrow they promise — or threaten. The local elections are the moment we will decide on those who offer themselves as local public representatives. That process assumes a new importance this week as the foundation layer of politics has been utterly changed since the last local elections. The elections will also be an opportunity to pass judgement on how those elected dealt with the circumstances they inherited. In this context, it is more than a cause for celebration that economic chaos was avoided, economic stability restored, and the prospect of growth becomes more real every day.