A government is an organization consisting a group of people who has the authority to exercise state power. The main functions of a government, as the term denotes are to govern. Law and order are enforced and policies are implemented by the government machinery. But the government who is charged with such authority must abide by the existing laws and must enjoy political legitimacy through the mandate handed over to it by the people. In a nutshell, a government which can enjoy legitimacy must come to power in accordance with the rule of the game laid down in a charter and must have acceptable performance in resolving problems and formulate policies which are beneficial to the general public.
What is important to note is that the existence of a government can come about only through the consent of the people who in turn expect the government to maintain its minimum functions of keeping law and order, formulate policies which will benefit the majority, lay down development programs which will bear positive results in the short and the long run. There is here some sort of a contract between the people who are the owners of sovereignty and the government which has the mandate of the people to rule in their name, on their behalf and for their benefit. This can be loosely termed as a social contract.
For a government to enjoy the support of the people and to have the mandate of the people to run the affairs of the state on their behalf, three elements must be present including legality or the rule of law, legitimacy and moral authority. Legality or the rule of law is not hard to comprehend. Suffice it to distinguish between the rule of law and the rule by law, a point needs no further elaboration. Legitimacy has two dimensions, acquiring political power and performance. Moral authority denotes political and administrative ethics. A government which is found to abuse power, blatantly violate the rule of law, plagued by rampant corruption, engage in nepotism and cronyism, etc., will not enjoy political legitimacy and hence will lose the moral authority to remain in power. Once a government has lost its moral authority, it will no longer have the political mandate of the people. Political support from the people will dwindle and the government will cease to become a legitimate government.
If the government which has lost its moral authority refuses to let go of its power grip, it will invite opposition in the form of protest of all kinds. And if the government in power cannot enforce law, or if it is boycotted by public protests, to the extent of being immobilized, it will lead to a state of political immobilism. And if the protests become widespread to the extent of turning the whole system to a standstill, it will be the sign of imminent collapse of the government or the regime. Worse, if the government house is under siege and the government cannot even hold its meetings in the government house, as was the case of late, that government, ipso facto, is no government, legally being a government notwithstanding. Any government that runs away from the people is no longer in control. Such a government will have a hard time fighting for survival, let alone attending the affairs of the state in an efficient manner.
Any government with the incumbent having been blinded by greed, intoxicated by power arrogance, and elated by misguided confidence will very likely suffer from a loss of moral authority in the long run with the concomitant loss of the popular mandate to govern.
The fate of such a government can be read easily for one will certainly see the writing on the wall. But people who deserve sympathy would be those members in the government party who are torn between loyalty and conscience, affiliation and principle. To jump ship midway would be condemned as being selfish and accused of betrayal. To stay on will be a mental ordeal due to the conflicting feelings.
Indeed under a situation in which the society is engaged in conflict and for some even a confrontation, the cleavage is real and dangerous. For the average persons, they would be affected by the twin ordeals of confusion and stress. The people are confused because they are looking at the situation from the perspective of right and wrong or black and white but in the world of reality it is often gray. The two conflicting parties have both sides of the coin; both have positive and negative aspects. This situation has led to a psychological agony and tormenting stress. But for the practitioners of politics who are party members, they are being pushed and pulled by the diametrically opposed sets of values. On the one hand, they have to display their loyalty and discipline as a party member. On the other hand, they have to answer their conscience and sense of righteousness. The poem below may convey the state of mind of many politicians who were caught in the lock horns of late.