Our parliamentary democracy, one of the oldest in the world, has taken a bit of a battering in recent weeks.
Parliament is in a mess and our MPs have been harshly reminded to whom they are accountable, and what their voters and tax payers will accept. Some of the revelations have meant that the most ideological and political amongst us have lost a little faith: we have questioned our commitment to the cause and some of the champions of that cause that we used to so admire.
The European elections and failed coup number two did not help matters. The public have lost their confidence in politicians and to add insult to injury they have no reason to believe that the current stewardship of government has the real ability to address and reform our tired, fragile system.
Watching the scenes in Iran this week has led me to gain some perspective on our domestic problems. I do not mean to try and belittle the scandals of recent weeks, they are important, but thousands of protestors fighting for their right to be heard against a religious authoritarian regime, one with the highest rate of judicial executions per head in the world, provides an international context that we should not ignore and makes claims of a constitutional crisis at home seem sensationalist.
The Iranian response to their presidential election has captured the global imagination. First and foremost because without fully understanding the ramifications of what we are witnessing there is a strong sense of how much is at stake.
We have clung to the hope that a new leadership in Iran could have a stronger commitment to its people, be less anti American, less anti Israel and one that would not deny the Holocaust. This would all feel like a step in a welcome direction even if there is no real evidence to suggest that the geo-politics of the region would dramatically shift if the election was refought and Mousavi got in. There are several intelligence assessments about how close Iran are to producing a nuclear weapon but most concede that time is ticking away, and that Mousavi would not seek to halt this momentum. Many people in Iran think it is their right to have nuclear power, and see it as an issue of national pride.
There is of course the distinct possibility that nothing will change. The revolutionary guard will use the full force of state power to consolidate its position and put down the protestors. But even if this is the sad reality, we cannot help but be encouraged by the mass demonstrations that we have seen this week. There is something extremely touching, even inspirational, about a nation clinging to their democratic right, determined to see justice being done and have their vote and their voice count.
The protests have continued in defiance of the express orders of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and with increased violence on the streets as the paramilitaries try and quell the opposition. The situation has morphed from a political contest between two candidates to a potentially revolutionary confrontation between a religious autocratic regime and a movement for change.
It is difficult to predict how the situation will conclude, but we do know that by comparison our political system is strong, vibrant, and our MPs, whilst clearly irresponsible and deserving of punishment, do respect the rule of law, uphold the separation of religion and state and accept that it will be their constituents who decide to keep them in power.
When the people here speak, their voices will be heard.