There is no democracy without democrats. This is a general rule that is often forgotten or overlooked, especially when it comes to established democracies, or those considered so. The longevity of democracy is not enough for its continuity if it loses essential components. The culture of democracy is one of the most important of these components. Democracy is not merely about elections and elected institutions, but primarily about culture. It is a societal culture based on respect for pluralism, diversity, and differences, acceptance of others regardless of disagreements, and acknowledgment of losses while striving to compensate for them.
The essence of all this is the belief that coming to power is a means to implement programs or plans that are assumed to better the conditions of the country and its people. This is what democrats believe in and act upon, as democracy cannot exist in their absence. When the opposite happens, especially in what are considered long-standing democracies, it indicates that they are on a path to decline, leading either to collapse or to some form of dictatorship, unless there are political elites who recognize that the era of the representative democratic model has ended and lead a transition towards a more participatory and popular framework.
In the absence of indications that this possibility is viable, there is no future for once-established democracies that have lost both the political elites and large sectors of the public who possess the culture that a democratic system cannot live without. Power has shifted from being a means to becoming an end. This is illustrated by a former president who refused to acknowledge his election loss, supported a failed movement to prevent its certification, and still considers himself the winner. He has merged with the power he loves and cannot bear to part with.
Similarly, there is a president who clung to running for a second term despite his declining mental and physical capabilities while many of his supporters urged him to step down, until financial pressures forced him to reluctantly withdraw. In another country considered a long-standing democracy, there is a president who cannot coexist and collaborate with those who disagree with him and tries to circumvent the outcome of legislative elections in hopes of continuing to monopolize power.
The love of power contradicts one of the most important elements of democracy, especially when that love is intense.
