Rivlin: Democracy in state of confusion, questioned by many

President Reuven Rivlin delivers a warning on the need to safeguard democracy and to engage with those who doubt its relevance, in an impassioned speech to mark the start of the Knesset winter session in Jerusalem.

“Against a background of political upheavals occurring in the West, the free world, it is no secret that democracy – or western liberal democracy – is in a state of confusion,” he says. “Many citizens across the world feel that the existing democratic system is struggling to function and moreover is struggling to offer an answer to their needs in light of the current threat of terrorism, the current wave of migration and refugees, or the on-going economic and employment crises.”

Furthermore, he continues, studies “conducted in many democratic countries indicate a sharp increase in the percentage of citizens who do not see themselves duty-bound to the principles of the democratic process.”

And while some are shocked by this perspective, we must understand and reconcile with it, Rivlin adds. “It would be a grave error to deny them, or alternatively to bemoan from diverse platforms the end of democracy, complain about ‘losing the way’ and the destruction of values. These are value-based positions struggling with the definition of the boundaries, the character, and the legitimacy of democracy.”