Smoke and Mirrors

by Pallavi Aiyar

In India political parties derive their legitimacy from victory at the ballot, but the problems, she says, start the day after. Indian governments then put their feet up, many politicians put their hands in the till. Delivery of the most basic public services only continues in the most desultory way. She compares this version of government legitimacy with China, where there are no elections, and the Chinese version of accountability is different. The ruling Chinese Communist Party has no democratic mandate, so it spends all its time seeking to produce the public services to keep a critical mass of the population sweet. In many ways it is the reverse of everything Indian.