Ironic democracy

The municipal elections in Reykjavik were won by an upstart party calling itself humbly the Best Party. Headed by Iceland's best-known comedian (who could now become mayor), the party ran a satirical campaign making extravagant promises - if elected, they would bring a polar bear to the city zoo, hand free towels at all swimming pools, construct a Dysneyesque theme part at the airport, etc. For decades, political scientists have tried to come up with qualifiers to describe obviously imperfect, yet seemingly democratic systems: "protodemocracy," "authoritarian democracy," "neopatrimonial democracy," etc. One study found 550 such examples of "democracy with adjectives" in the scholarly literature. Maybe it's time to add a new, less ominous entry to the list - "ironic democracy." This would be a system in which no one would be expected to take seriously elections and the post-election gimmicks of elected "politicians." Some would say the Reykjavik vote was an aberration, reflecting the rage of the electorate with the traditional parties that steered the country into its current financial meltdown. But let's not forget the trail-blazers who set the trend years ago - gifted self-styled entertainers (some detractors would call them clowns) like Silvio Berlusconi and Boris Johnson.