The problem wit those "old" democracies is that too much within these systems hinges on the participants desire to honor the rules. This is especially clear if

The problem wit those "old" democracies is that too much within these systems hinges on the participants desire to honor the rules. This is especially clear if you compare it to more modern democracies who had fallen ill to fascism before and had to harden their rules after the devastations of WWII. I don't think the dysfunctionality of democracy both in UK and the US is a coincidence. Up to a few years ago the last mental hurdles have fallen and bad actors discovered that there are surprisingly little hard rules preventing them to play the game in bad faith — and so they did. The media landscapes in the UK and US (Murdoch!) did their part. US commentors I discussed with always pointed to free speech, I just don't hope they mean it like Elon Musk: Free speech, as long as it is the right kind, and I am deciding which is.