The most terrifying thing about contemporary politics is not so much the multiple potential crises we face - energy shortages, AI destabilisation, crippling cyberattacks, WWIII kicking off, possible civil strife etc. It's the total lack of responsible statesmen, on all sides. Everyone playing politics like it's a performative game where actions don't have consequences and you can just play-act as glorified activists and continue to ride your luxury hobby horses. But please wake up: a world where you can play make believe politics as a form of elite therapy or pandering to idiots or moral grandstanding does not exist anymore. Maybe it did for a decade or two, but we're not in Kansas anymore Toto. Pretty soon people are going to wake up to the fact that the decisions governments make have real consequences, and that a never-never world where everything is basically ok and you can ignore the underlying realities has gone. And I mean real consequences, not some people being sad about some meaningless gesture that has or hasn't happened or some abstract bullshit cause not working out for people, or even a bit of a dip in living standards. I mean not having water or electricity; being cold in winter; your savings or investments becoming literally worthless overnight; riots in the street on a regular basis disrupting your life; your sons coming back in body bags in large numbers; supermarkets not having food; cyberattacks making the simplest thing impossible; payment systems going down. So all I want now is reality-based responsible statesmen or women who grasp the scale of our problems and take decisions that will stave off the chaos and keep us save and warm and fed. Not popularity seeking lightweights and spivs. Not grandstanding ideologically deranged cranks. Not complacent liberals who live in an eternal 1997. Some actual grown ups who tell the truth, who will take long-term decisions, who will risk unpopularity, who will hold the line. I'm not holding my breath.