Without elections, you don’t have democracy, but holding elections does not make a country democratic. That also requires a democratic attitude on the part of those elected: an awareness among politicians that their position is unstable and that in a democracy, the seat of power must always remain empty. I learnt this from French political philosopher Claude Lefort.
Lefort wrote about the difference between autocracy and democracy and the latter began with the end of the monarchy, or the moment the king was removed from the throne and the seat of power was no longer permanently occupied by one person. Politics is a struggle for power, and in a democracy, this position of power cannot be held by anyone.
Presidents ruling by decree, or tech companies dominating the media, or activists using violence, there are lots of ways to occupy the seat of power. People will always go for the power grab, Lefort said, this seems to be in our nature. The difference between an autocracy and a democracy is that there are always checks and balances to prevent this.
When I was an MP, parliament was still housed in the Binnenhof. Walking through the centuries-old buildings, I regularly came to an old stairwell, where halfway up the stairs was an old throne, from our kings of the nineteenth century. It had been in the House of Representatives, the centre of power, since 1815. But this throne always remained empty because the king was not in charge in this parliament, and had no reason to be here. By 1904, the throne had been removed and replaced by a pulpit to facilitate parliamentary debates. The old throne was put in the cellars, until it found its place in the old stairwell in the building in 1964. An apt symbol: the empty seat of power in parliament.
This empty throne is now back in storage somewhere while the Binnenhof is being renovated, thereby depriving parliament of an example for politicians: Lefort’s lesson, that democracy is a constant struggle and a permanent compromise. That no politician, businessman or advocate can ever get entirely what they want because no one can hold on to the seat of power indefinitely. Because this is best for all of us: it is our insurance against autocracy and the security of democracy.
Perhaps we should look back to the early years of our parliament and the empty throne that stood in parliament at the time. If the renovation of the Binnenhof is ever finished, we can put the throne back in parliament. As the pre-eminent symbol of our parliamentary democracy: a reminder to every politician that everyone must be opposed and the seat of power must always remain empty.
Ronald van Raak is professor of Philosophy in the Netherlands.
