Democratic dreams and political reality in Europe

Is the democratic dream confined to the political and intellectual élites or is it shared by the populace at large? When are politicians, of any stripe, no matter how often they invoke the word "democracy" on talk shows, able to interpret the wishes of the voters they are targeting? In principle, we should expect that they do this regularly, since the very word means the power of the people. But this does not ensure that the citizens are satisfied with what they get in democratic regimes. What the latter deliver might be short of their expectations - so much so that the people may be willing to have less power if they get greater benefits. Or perhaps they may desire to use their power in a different way.