> Shorter terms devolve the actual functions of governance to unelected,
Baked into that statement is the assumption shorter electoral terms means shorter periods in power. It doesn't.
Governments tend to stay in power for about 8 years where I live, which has 3 year terms. That doesn't seem to be much different to the UK, were terms are twice as long, or the US for that matter. But individual politicians are often there for decades. The fate of the election tends to depend on 10 or 20 swinging seats, out of about 80. Typically a bureaucrat is going to be dealing with politicians with decades of experience at handling bureaucrats.
It's not always true of course. Occasionally, the electorate does get riled up when the government does a particularly poor job. And then it isn't just a matter of 10 or 20 seats, most of them change, and it's after a minimal term in office. But that's only happened literally once in 60 years to me. Yes, that's inefficient, but I don't see any choice. Occasionally, the political class needs to be reminded who is actually in charge. 3 year reminders seems to work well enough.
Baked into that statement is the assumption shorter electoral terms means shorter periods in power. It doesn't.
Governments tend to stay in power for about 8 years where I live, which has 3 year terms. That doesn't seem to be much different to the UK, were terms are twice as long, or the US for that matter. But individual politicians are often there for decades. The fate of the election tends to depend on 10 or 20 swinging seats, out of about 80. Typically a bureaucrat is going to be dealing with politicians with decades of experience at handling bureaucrats.
It's not always true of course. Occasionally, the electorate does get riled up when the government does a particularly poor job. And then it isn't just a matter of 10 or 20 seats, most of them change, and it's after a minimal term in office. But that's only happened literally once in 60 years to me. Yes, that's inefficient, but I don't see any choice. Occasionally, the political class needs to be reminded who is actually in charge. 3 year reminders seems to work well enough.