[Yeul]

The trick is that you don't elect someone like Donald Trump. I just read on the BBC that the president of America threatened New Yorkers not to vote for Mamdani.

People in the Netherlands trust their government because noone in the 500 years of history has ever gotten close to getting dictatorial power unless you count Napoleon and Hitler.

[pyuser583]

Why does Belgium exist? Is it because the Flemish revolted against Dutch rule?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Revolution

[eru]

Despite the downvotes you are right that democracies mostly deliver what voters want. And if voters want silly things, they get silly things.

It's easy to fret at how dysfunctional and insane politics are. But after you talk to some actual voters (and look at opinion polls), instead you marvel at how comparatively sane policies manage to be---despite voters.