BEIJING, July 24 — As the newly elected leader of the UK Labour Party, Andy Burnham, assumed Britain’s premiership on Monday, the country has ushered in its seventh prime minister in a decade.
Such rapid turnover at 10 Downing Street — rare across 200 years of British history — is no longer unusual across the West.
LEADERSHIP “CHURN” ACROSS THE WEST
In recent years, a “revolving door” of leadership has haunted several Western nations. A string of top leaders, unable to deliver on their campaign pledges or push through tough reforms, often triggers disillusionment among voters or ends up as casualties of political infighting. The resulting churn erodes policy continuity and government credibility, leaving the political system trapped in a vicious cycle of dysfunction. However, such frequent reshuffling at the top proves to be no cure for the chronic governance conundrums gripping the West. Since May 2017, France has seen seven different prime ministers under President Emmanuel Macron, a three-decade record for any single administration. The volatility reached a farcical peak last October when Sebastien Lecornu resigned just 27 days into his term, less than a day after forming a cabinet, only to be reappointed by Macron hours later.
Italy has mirrored this turbulence, cycling through five prime ministers in a decade, four of whom held power during one chaotic six-year stretch. While Rome is accustomed to the fragility of coalition politics, such frequent turnover remains extreme by historical standards. This political fever only broke in 2022 following the ascent of Giorgia Meloni, the current prime minister. Other Western nations like Austria and the Netherlands have also witnessed a “revolving door” of leadership. Austria, for instance, has cycled through five chancellors since 2021, while the Netherlands saw its longest-serving government plunge into deep uncertainty.
VICIOUS CYCLE OF DISCONTENT
At the heart of this relentless leadership churn is a widening disconnect between Western political elites and the societies they try to run. For years, many governments have struggled to tackle deep-rooted economic and social grievances, while social media has accelerated the spread of public discontent and shortened politicians’ political lifespans.
Ian Scott, a professor at the University of Manchester, noted that Western leaders have not lived up to expectations, and commonly they have existed in an increasingly tricky economic climate where finding answers to a series of events triggered by the financial crash of 2008 has simply been beyond them all. This academic critique resonates with the stark admission from Britain’s new leader. Burnham conceded that Westminster has not been working for people, after 10 years of political turbulence since Brexit and nearly 20 years of falling living standards since the 2008 financial crash.
In France, the generous welfare model is buckling under sagging productivity and aging demographics. While successive prime ministers have sought to rein in overspending, they have consistently hit a wall over the zero-sum dilemma of tax hikes versus spending cuts, leaving essential reforms in permanent gridlock. Italy has been battered by energy and supply shocks since the Ukraine crisis began, with record inflation sparking a severe cost-of-living squeeze. As livelihood pressures mount, public resentment toward the political establishment is steadily reaching a boil.
Meanwhile, the rise of social media has further catalyzed this cycle of political turnover. Scott said social media has made all this much more immediate, as bad news now travels much faster than good news. Governments find it much harder to recover from mistakes because every problem is amplified and repeated online, he added.
DESPERATE TO STAY IN POWER
In parliamentary democracies such as Britain and Italy, the head of government is typically whoever leads the party with a majority in parliament. A prime minister can therefore resign without bringing down the government — so long as the party holds its majority, it needs only swap leaders to stay in power. This political game rule has made party leaders relatively expendable during political crises. Tim Bale, a professor at Queen Mary University of London, said that when governments become unpopular, governing-party MPs are more likely to panic and replace their leader. Bale argued that panic can shape the choice of successor, with parties often favoring candidates who can quickly restore public support, satisfy internal factions or improve the party’s image over those best equipped to govern.
Japan, which regards itself as part of the Western camp, offers another example. More often than not, it is the ruling Liberal Democratic Party itself that removes leaders it judges electoral liabilities, rather than voters throwing them out directly. Since Shinzo Abe ended his nearly eight-year tenure in September 2020, Japan has churned through four prime ministers in under six years — Yoshihide Suga and Shigeru Ishiba each lasting barely a year apiece. Japanese media commentator Masaru Seo said Japan’s political system has developed a “culture of electoral accountability,” under which party leaders are forced to resign after electoral setbacks.
Meanwhile, political polarization and fragmentation have further reshaped party politics in some Western countries. As mainstream parties struggle to satisfy voters, some voters have turned to more radical alternatives. In recent years, right-wing and far-right parties such as Brothers of Italy, France’s National Rally and Reform UK have expanded their support by capitalizing on public dissatisfaction, eroding the dominance of traditional parties and contributing to more frequent changes in political leadership.
In France, a president traditionally appoints a prime minister from the parliamentary majority. However, this practice has become increasingly difficult as parliament is split among the left, center and far right, with no bloc holding an outright majority. Prime ministers therefore face a greater risk of losing office as governing coalitions falter.
NO TIME FOR GOVERNING
The churn, some experts argue, is a symptom rather than a cause: evidence of structural problems within Western political systems that show no sign of resolving themselves soon. Scott noted that politics in many Western countries is increasingly resembling a state of “permanent campaigning,” with politicians spending as much as “80-90 percent” of their time focused on elections rather than governing. Analysts warn that the inability to maintain stable governments carries significant long-term consequences.
First, it undermines sustained reform. Reforms in healthcare, housing, infrastructure and education all require years of consistent implementation. Yet many politicians lack both the time and the political incentives to pursue such long-term agendas. Fiscal consolidation in France and Italy, as well as tax and public service reform in Britain, have all struggled to move forward. This is largely because leaders are constantly constrained by opinion polls and vulnerable to internal party challenges, with political survival often taking precedence over structural change. Seo argues that the greatest cost of “short-lived politics” is that long-standing problems are repeatedly postponed rather than resolved.
Second, it weakens policy continuity. Leadership changes can result in abrupt shifts in foreign, trade and defense policies, undermining both national interests and international credibility. Britain is the clearest example. With each change of prime minister has come a lurch in policy toward Europe — from the Conservatives’ hard Brexit to Labour’s attempt at a “reset,” and now, under Andy Burnham, a revived debate over whether Britain might one day rejoin the EU altogether. Brussels, unsurprisingly, has grown warier for it.
Third, it erodes public confidence. As voters increasingly conclude that changing leaders makes little difference, support for populist and anti-establishment politics tends to grow. A recent report by Britain’s National Centre for Social Research found that 75 percent of Reform UK supporters believe the country’s system of governance requires major improvements, while 68 percent say they rarely or never trust the government to put the national interest above party interests. Winning an election, Scott warned, is not the same as governing. When every politician is, in his words, “in the business of preparing for or running in the next race,” governance itself becomes an afterthought.
Xinhua
