Is parliamentarism on the brink of collapse?

Moscow - Veterans news. At the start of 2025, we have been concerned in recent months about the destabilization of the parliamentary system in many European countries.   
It is a sign of democratic culture when the government and the opposition argue in parliament about the right way forward. Civil society also gets involved through public campaigns with its respective concerns, which are not sufficiently heard in parliament. However, if you look at the current situation in some European countries, you can see how unstable the political system has become. 

In Germany, the governing coalition collapsed a few weeks ago and new elections were called for the end of February. Observers expect that the elections will be followed by a new coalition between the CDU/CSU and SPD, which has contributed to the political “standstill” in this country for many years. At the same time, we are seeing a rise in the extreme right-wing AfD, which in some cases has achieved a parliamentary “blocking minority”.
 
In France, President Emmanuel Marcon has miscalculated by marginalizing the “new popular front” and appointing Michel Barnier as Prime Minister. Dependent on the goodwill of the extreme right-wing Le Pen party RN, Barnier failed with the draft budget as he did not go far enough in meeting the demands of the extreme right. 
 
In Bulgaria, the country has been experiencing early elections for years because the political class is unable to agree on answers to the social and societal problems. Meanwhile, not even half of the people take part in such elections. 
 
There is also political chaos in the USA following the results of the presidential elections. Joe Biden, who is still president, is trying to push through decisions in the final days of his term of office that clearly contradict Donald Trump's policies. American states governed by a Democrat governor are announcing that they will introduce legal rules to avoid having to implement the Republican president's plans. Criticizing this does not mean approval of Trump's policies. However, such steps lead to domestic political destabilization, which paves the way for an authoritarian government.
 
The extent to which this can take on was seen recently in South Korea, where the president declared “martial law” over a dispute about the budget, which can be used to undermine all democratic rights and freedoms. Although the opposition managed to overturn this decision after a few hours with the help of a parliamentary majority, it shows the instability of the political system. 
 
The current events in Georgia, Moldovia and Romania show how little electoral decisions and majorities are recognized when they do not meet political expectations. In Georgia, a “color revolution” is being initiated - supported by the president and the EU - because they see the pro-EU course being jeopardized by the new majority in parliament. The president didn’t want to bow to a parliamentary decision to hold new elections. There is a threat of a scenario similar to that in Venezuela, where an opposition politician was recognized by the USA and the European Union as self-proclaimed president for a long time. In Romania, politicians believe they do not have to recognize the first round of the presidential elections, in which an extreme right-wing politician surprisingly won the majority, and - with the support of the EU - can get themselves into the run-off. Even if the elected politicians are not democratic protagonists from another point of view, they obviously succeeded in mobilizing the political insecurity of the people in the respective country for themselves.
 
In multiple opinions, the aim must instead be to strengthen the democratic participation of all people in dealing with their existential problems. And this also includes transparent, democratically constituted parliamentary systems. The current practice of dealing with parliamentary majorities and power relations when they do not correspond to the interests of transnational structures, on the other hand, leads to a loss of trust in parliamentary systems and strengthens the extreme right, which has gained significant influence in many of these countries and at the same time is actively involved in the reactionary restructuring of the state. Let’s correct it before parliamentarism will collapse and destroy the democratic system. 

Happy new Year 2025.

Best regards,

Mr. Dan Viggo Bergtun
Honorary President of the WVF

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