Abstract:
When a society is under going profound social, political, and cultural change, its collective identities are being redefined, the political community reconceived, new rules of the political game established and routinized. In such periods the status ofthe political sphere, professional politicians and political institutions is of utmost importance. This includes not just the objective role and place of politics in social life but also the prestige and reputation of political actors: how do rank-and-filecitizens view them, how much are they esteemed? It is the job of politicians to govern the country and make decisions affecting everybody. These decisions areoften difficult and painful, and not all citizens approve of them at all times. Forthese reasons, professional politicians must maintain a two fold relationship towards their social base: to represent it as best they can, but also to be able to resist the passions of majority when the common interest and political wisdom so require. If governmental decisions, including unpopular ones, are to be acknowledged and implemented, politicians must enjoy some genuine authority in the eyes of citizenry.This holds regardless of the fact that active democratic citizenship and civil society always presume healthy criticism of those in power.
