When transparency catches do-gooders

Never mind oil, Russian oil and American threats over buying Russian oil. Instead, let's quickly talk about one possible shortcoming of democracy, that well-meaning aunt who insists on reading every receipt aloud at family dinners, and has a transparency fetish that makes Yudhisthir look shifty. Don't get us wrong. That selective champion of democracy (he suspended it when applying to the colonies) and resident wisecracker Winston Churchill was right when he said, 'Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.'

But here's the thing: there may be an understanding between the two leaders of the biggest democracies over one of them continuing to buy Russian oil while the other looks the other way. Neither can say it out aloud. Both need to show their peeps they've got what it takes to, well, take - more than give. But, then, the agents of democracy land up with their penchant for truth, and upturns this 'mai-baap knows best' model. The whole two men 'doing good on the sly' goes for a toss because democracy's mob has to be kept satisfied, even if it's by a charade of muscle-flexes.

So, there you have it. Democracy's great. It allows everyone to have a say. But sometimes, just sometimes, it catches even tough guys flat-footed, even as they are trying to do something unpopular but smart from behind the glare of the stage.