The rule of law does not collapse with a bang, but in the silence of lost emails and ignored protocols. The last 48 hours have exposed a systemic paralysis of security procedures on two continents, while political dynasties step into the resulting vacuum.
Bureaucracy Without Brakes. The modern state bases its legitimacy on procedures that, in theory, are meant to be blind to the financial and political status of the citizen. The British Ministry of Defence has just ordered a review of aviation archives, a technical attempt to answer whether RAF bases served as private airfields for Jeffrey Epstein's network. Investigators are analyzing whether military infrastructure, funded by taxpayers, provided a way to bypass passport control under the pretext of „guest status.”
Simultaneously, in Brussels, an investigation is underway regarding Lord Peter Mandelson. EU controllers have hit a snag that seems almost anachronistic in the digital age: the disappearance of some business emails from his tenure as commissioner. A lobbying firm linked to the politician admitted to a gap in documentation, paralyzing the ability to fully reconstruct events.
Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in 2019 while accused of human trafficking, built a network of connections spanning top politicians and aristocracy. His case has become a symbol of elite impunity, and current investigations in the UK and US are an attempt by the justice system to regain credibility after years of neglect.
The problem of procedural leaks is not limited to Europe. In the United States, Federal Judge Ana Reyes issued a ruling that captures the scale of administrative abuse in cold numbers. The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) shared taxpayer data with the ICE agency exactly 42,695 times, violating the Tax Reform Act of 1976. Judge Reyes rejected the government's arguments, pointing out that secret executive regulations cannot stand above federal law.
The mechanism is identical on both sides of the Atlantic: institutions established to protect borders (ICE) or security (RAF) instrumentalize the law for operational or political convenience. In the US case, data on income and family status, which was supposed to be protected from surveillance, became a tool of migration policy. In the UK, military protocols may have become a screen for human trafficking.The Return of Dynasties and Prisoners. When institutions lose their steerability, voters turn toward names that promise strong-arm rule or dynastic continuity. In Brazil, just four years after Jair Bolsonaro lost power, his son Flávio Bolsonaro has tied in the polls with the incumbent president. A study by the Datafolha institute indicates a dead heat: both politicians can count on 42 percent support in a hypothetical second round.
The speed with which Flávio closed the gap surprised analysts who had predicted the end of the Bolsonarista movement. „This isn't just a normal poll bump. It's a signal that the Bolsonaro voter base hasn't just remained intact – it might be even more fired up than before.” (This isn't just a normal poll bump. It's a signal that the Bolsonaro voter base hasn't just remained intact – it might be even more fired up than before.) — Anonimowy analityk polityczny cytowany przez Bloomberg Within the right-wing camp, however, a cold calculation is underway: whether Michelle Bolsonaro, free from the direct accusations weighing on the family's male line, would be a better electoral „product.”
A similar mechanism of political personalization, though under vastly different conditions, is occurring in Turkey. Abdullah Öcalan, the founder of the PKK, after 27 years in prison, is attempting to impose a legislative agenda on the Turkish state. His appeal for „peace laws” is an attempt to forge a prisoner's authority into concrete legal acts that would end a conflict that has cost over 40,000 lives.
42% — support for Flávio Bolsonaro and Lula in a hypothetical second-round election in Brazil
Öcalan's initiative, supported by the DEM party, is meeting resistance from the political establishment in Ankara. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has not presented a timetable, suggesting that the call from the prison on İmralı Island may remain in the realm of rhetoric. Nevertheless, the mere fact that an incarcerated leader is dictating terms of „democratic integration” testifies to the weakness of standard diplomatic channels.Quiet Grassroots Work. Against the backdrop of grand scandals and the return of political dynasties, Minister Jacqueline Drese's visit to Lithuania seems like an event from another era. A representative of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern government is in Vilnius discussing cross-border medical care. This is an attempt to stitch Europe together at a technical level, away from the spotlight.
The German delegation, meeting with Lithuanian Minister Arunas Dulkys, is discussing funding and telemedicine issues. „Celem wizyty jest intensyfikacja naszej współpracy z Litwą w obszarze zdrowia. Chcemy przede wszystkim rozmawiać o transgranicznej opiece zdrowotnej.” (The goal of the visit is to intensify our cooperation with Lithuania in the field of health. We primarily want to talk about cross-border healthcare.) — Jacqueline Drese This is a methodical action, devoid of political glitz, but crucial for the Baltic Sea region.
The contrast between the pragmatism of the Vilnius visit and the chaos in the RAF archives is striking. While local governments try to build functioning systems, the central institutions of great powers lose themselves in their own procedures. German-Lithuanian cooperation shows that state structures can still function, as long as they are not paralyzed by high politics.
One could argue that the exposure of scandals in the IRS or RAF proves the strength of democracy – the system eventually corrects itself. Judge Reyes issued a verdict, and the British Ministry of Defence ordered an audit. However, this is premature optimism. The correction occurs post factum, after the damage – in the form of privacy violations of 42,000 people or potential human trafficking – has already been done. Institutions react like a forensic pathologist rather than a doctor: they diagnose the cause of death of procedures instead of preventing them from being broken.
The year 2026 in Brazil and the coming months in Turkey will show whether voters, tired of bureaucratic inefficiency, will bet on charismatic individuals. If Flávio Bolsonaro takes power and Öcalan imposes his narrative from a cell, it will be a signal that the era of technocrats is coming to an end. Then, even the best-written data protection laws in the US or flight protocols in the UK will become mere suggestions rather than binding law.
In the final analysis, it turns out that the greatest threat to the state is not external enemies, but officials who decide that the end justifies the means. Democracy dies not in darkness, but in the light of fluorescent lamps, to the accompaniment of shredders and the sound of deleted emails.
RAF Datafolha ICE PKK