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Lesson from Japan on the peril of taking voters for granted
Despite a weak opposition and the switch to a new party leader, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party was unable to escape the electorate’s anger.
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Mr Shigeru Ishiba’s LDP has held power for most of the years since its founding in 1955, apparently mid-wifed by the US Central Intelligence Agency.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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Shigeru Ishiba’s whipsawing political fortunes following his surprise emergence as Japan’s leader in late September, only to be followed swiftly by a huge electoral rebuke within a month, holds lessons for entrenched parties around the world in nations that hold regular elections.
Top of those lessons must surely be the perils of taking voters for granted.
