Q&A: Legitimacy
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Legitimacy
Question
Hello Rabbi, is a public official allowed to act according to his own judgment on a matter that the majority of the public who elected him strongly opposes (in a case where we know that this is indeed the situation)? Does he have moral and value-based legitimacy to act that way, or not? Thank you.
Answer
In my opinion, in principle, no. Admittedly, it is hard to state this categorically, because sometimes what one sees from there is not what one sees from here, and therefore there is room for the judgment of the person holding the position: if he sees that the interests of his voters will be better served in a way they are not thinking of, he may deviate from his promises.