Birgit Müller

Between corner shops, allotment gardens and campsites: Just months before the state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the mood is one of disappointment and bitterness. Trust in politics is waning, and so is trust in democracy itself. There is growing frustration with “those at the top.” But this is not simply populism. Research shows that there is a remarkably stable and powerful “top” in business, the judiciary and politics, a small group of people and institutions with significant influence over the country’s future. That poses a threat to democracy. But who can fix it? “Those at the top” or “those at the bottom”?