Members of parliament vote to elect the national assembly's president during its first session on Oct. 23 2015, following the Oct. 4 general elections. AP Photo/Armando Franca
Politics necessarily involves relating to citizens. To be considered as such, politicians should, in all logic, actually relate to citizens. This is however not the case most of the time. Constituents’ voices are often misinterpreted, distorted or disregarded by those who should primarily relate to their needs – and only after having done so, govern.
The ill effects of this misappropriation become apparent in a variety of ways. In Portugal, it has taken the form of austerity. As the Welfare state was being sharply trimmed, austerity came to be the law of the land. It developed into the norm, despite the fact that no convincing explanations were given for it. No consultations were made. There was no debate. Something was lost in the process that goes from the crisis to the answer given. Not an inconsequential loss.
