Sir, – I read with some concern Sean Moncrieff's article calling for "a Nphet for climate change" (Magazine, August 14th). This is an old idea. In the Roman republic, it was not uncommon for the senate to suspend democratic norms and confer a magistrate with absolute authority to tackle a particular crisis. While the office of dictator may have seemed necessary, its abuse eventually led to the dissolution of the republic itself. Prior to the arrival of Covid-19, the last few decades have seen a slow ebbing of power from democratic institutions to technocratic ones. Indeed, in Ireland our elected leaders have little say over monetary policy, financial regulation or planning law (which is perhaps why the housing crisis proves intractable). The invention of Nphet is just one further example of a general trend. At the time of its invention, the idea that rulers should be directly accountable to the ruled was revolutionary. I hope that this idea does not again fall out of fashion. – Yours, etc,
WILLIAM PRASIFKA,
Dubai,
United Arab Emirates.