A.C. Grayling expounded on the threat to democracy in an eye-opening “Democracy And It’s Crisis”

Times  columnist, Editor of Spiked and self-proclaimed leftie Mick Hume goes to the mattresses against those undermining  democracy. And among those he takes on is Grayling, whom he accuses of being among the cleritocracy who believe democracy requires a clear-thinking elite guiding the unwashed, ignorant masses on how to vote.

So who is this whippersnapper? asks my friend Quinten who is on first name term with Grayling.

This makes Hume’s point exactly.

Denegrate and belittle opponents  and those daring to speak out against the conventional wisdom!

Grayling uses the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House as the pegs for allowing that democracy is failing us.

Hume find both these developments deeply regrettable.

However, his point is they are both democracy in action.

More Britons voted for Brexit than for anything else in British democratic history.

Their vote, like Americans who cast their ballot for Donald Trump, was a revolt against the elite preferring to tell them how to vote rather than engage them and address their issues and misgivings. In fairness, Grayling also make this point.

Hume insists democracy will often not give the desired outcome . The only way of addressing this is engaging in more debate to win the battle of ideas.

He fears that too much power has been handed to unelected groups, like judges and the European Commission, by the political elite determined to keep this out of the hands of the demos: the people.

Both he and Grayling draw on the first democracy in Athens 2 500 year ago which failed dismally to the extent that no one dared propose the idea for 2 000 years.

Hume argues that a successful democracy should go back to the Athenian roots with a careful removal of sexism and others mistakes .

This will mean taking power away from the unelected directors who dismiss opponents as racist and ignorant.

I am particularly drawn to the late Tony Benn’s acid test of anyone in power: exactly what power do you have;  where did yo get it from; how are you sing it for the good of the people; and how do we get ride of you. 2015-05-18

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The visitor is seeking his hosts approval for extending his term limit – possibly until 2034.

US President Donal Trump is not concerned that his Egyptian counterpart Abdelfatah El Sisi, who took power in a 2013 coup,  is proving to be more oppressive that Hosni Mubarak who was unseated in the Arab Spring.

Trump’s  America first approach seeks to use Egypt’s role a lynchpin of regional security.

He’s looking to build on robust military, economic and counter-terrorism co-operation.

When El Sisi visited the White House previously two years ago, Trump told him he was doing a fantastic job and America is very much behind him.

Nothing’s changed.

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Of the many brickbats justifiably being hurled at the Congo’s new President Felix Tshisekdi, daddy’s boy is not one of them.

Nepotism could easily spring to mind as the reason why the son of the veteran opposition figure finally gets the job his father managed to secure.

This would be simplistic and frankly wrong.

Etienne Tshisekedi, who founded the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) and opposed presidents Mobutu Sese Seko, Laurent Kabila and Joseph Kabila , made no bones about  what he saw as his son’s inexperience and inadequacies. He frequently said he was not about to hand his offspring  a free ticket to his life’s work.

It was only after Etienne’s death in 2017 that Belgian- educated Felix was able to rise through the ranks to take the leadership of the UDPS.

Felix is adamant that he will emulate his late  father who he refers to as his master.

Family members say the son has none of the stubbornness and pride that hampered his father but enabled him to persevere through internal exile and imprisonment.

Felix is diplomatic, conciliatory and ready to listen to a variety of viewpoints.

This should stand him in good stead running the Central African giant rich in minerals including the coltan that keeps our smart phones and other electronic devices working.

For if there is anything that that abounds in this fecund country capable of feeding the entire continent, it is the variety of viewpoints.

His father’s misgivings about his inexperience notwithstanding, Felix has shown an adeptness in deal making that would the envy of his counterpart in the White House.

He quickly broke free of an opposition election pact when it became clear that he could do more beneficial business with the incumbent President Joseph Kabila who was about it stand down after 18 years in power but made no secret of  medium-term plans to get back at the helm in 2023.

The deal they stitched up will give Tshisekedi the presidency but he will be hamstrung by not controlling the legislature still firmly in the hands of the Kabila coalition with 337 of the 500 seats.

Indeed, Tshisikedi’s coalition has only 46 MPs. The second most powerful party in the legislature – with 102 seats – is the coalition of Martin Fayulu who’s claim to have won the Presidential election is backed by the Catholic Church, the European Union, France and Belgium.

So Tshisekedi will have his work cut out delivering on his campaign promises to restore the rule of law, eradicate the “gangrene” of corruption and bring prosperity to the country reduced to poverty by decades of Mobutu Sese Seko’s kleptocracy, Laurent Kabila’s venality and his son’s corruption.

Nevertheless those countries and organizations that have put on record their serious doubts about the vote count recorded by the national electoral commission have now taken a pragmatic view.

They accept the sovereign decision of the Congolese administration and constitutional court, which upheld the election result, and are hoping Tshisekedi can do what he has promised.

The denouement is far from perfect. But which African solutions are? 

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The Gaberone Government’s asking the regional grouping SADC and the African Union to condemn what it calls Trump’s irresponsible, racist and reprehensible outburst.

Washington’s Ambassador to Gaborone’s been summoned to tell the Botswana Government whether President Donald Trump numbers the Southern African nation among the countries dismissed with a scatological epithet.

The Botswana statement deplores the derogatory remark from the leader of country with which it has cordial relations.

The White House has not denied Trump made the remark.

Trump himself says in a tweet his language while talking about immigration was strong although he maintains the widely reported foul-mouthed expression was not the one he used.

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The Egyptian general-turned-president is making his first visit to the White House from which he was effectively locked out by the Obama administration.

ends intro

Donald Trump and Abdel Fattah El Sisi met on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last year and got on like a house on fire.

El Sisi will be disappointed if he  expects to leave Washington with everything on his wish list.

This includes more military aid, a US declaration that the Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organisation and a restoration of the strategic relationship Egypt once enjoyed with America.

Donald Trump may sound friendlier towards Egypt than Barak Obama.

But will his actions match his words?

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