Sir, – Karl Martin (Letters, November 14th) asks: " . . . if a majority of voters in European countries like Italy want immigration dramatically reduced but elected politicians cannot do so, because of activist judges and outdated international refugee conventions, voters are sooner or later going to ask themselves: what’s the point of democracy?”
While democracy has been defined as the rule of the people, by the people, for the people, the question must be asked whether there are limits to the power of elected politicians to legislate as they want.
In most democracies, the powers of representative government are limited by constitutional law which ensures that democratic governments are obliged to respect national and international inalienable human rights.
Otherwise, democratic populism will lead to tyranny. – Yours, etc,
Donald Trump is changing America in ways that will reverberate long after he is dead
Mark O'Connell: The mystery is not why we Irish have responded to Israel’s barbarism. It’s why others have not
Afghan student nurses crushed as Taliban blocks last hope of jobs
Emer McLysaght: The seven deadly things you should never buy a child at Christmas
BRENDAN BUTLER,
Dublin 9.