“Some of the most fundamental pillars of the West and of the liberal international order are weakening,” warned Wolfgang Ischinger, chair of the Munich Security Conference, an annual event that is taking place this week. Participating in the discussions are some 350 decision-makers involved in security policy. Among their number are heads of governments and international organisations, ministers, members of parliaments and high-ranking military personnel. It’s the Western establishment.

You can imagine what a hand-wringing event this must be. In his opening remarks, the chair listed the familiar threats to the liberal order. Among them were the following: “Citizens of democracies believe less and less that their systems are able to deliver positive outcomes for them and increasingly favour national solutions and closed borders over globalism and openness.” Ischinger also warned that “liberal democracies have proven to be vulnerable to disinformation campaigns in ‘post-truth’ international politics.”

Now the first question to ask when faced with a crisis in one’s personal life, or in national life, is to what extent have I or we been responsible for it? Only then should one allow oneself to point the finger at others or to blame events beyond one’s control.

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Indeed, given the manifest failings of the establishments of numerous countries in the liberal West, I believe the first item on the agenda in Munich should have borrowed from the old Latin mass: “Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa” or “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault”.

After all, the main reason why citizens of the democracies are not receiving the positive outcomes they deserve is the terrible calamity of the banking crisis of 2007-09 and the years of austerity that have followed. This crisis developed spontaneously. The culprit was over-trading by the banks that led to simultaneous bubbles in housing, in consumer credit and in the financial industry itself. These all finally collapsed under their own weight in the second half of 2007.

This was a private sector disaster. If governments contributed to this collapse at all, it was by weakening the regulation of financial markets in the preceding years. Since then the big banks have become a byword for corrupt practices.

There are good reasons for cynicism and disillusion, and they are home-grown.

Ischinger’s second warning, that liberal democracies have proven to be vulnerable to disinformation campaigns in “post-truth” international politics, is surely explained by the poor behaviour of the political classes in Britain, the US, France and elsewhere. What happened, for instance, during the British referendum campaign was shocking. It was when the decline in the integrity of British politics reached a low point. Many people felt disgusted, a rare response to a political event.

To remind ourselves, the then-Prime Minister David Cameron and his colleagues in the Remain camp first attempted to fix the result in advance by using a form of words for the referendum question that would invite a “yes” response. The Electoral Commission had to intervene to provide a fair formulation of the choice.

Then, with just eight days to go before the vote, George Osborne, the then-Chancellor of the Exchequer, had another go: he attempted to frighten people by announcing a “punishment” Budget. Meanwhile both sides were repeatedly careless with the truth; in some cases they actively tried to mislead.

In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Show all 32 1 /32 In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London An image of President Donald Trump is seen on a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A view of the skywriting word reading 'Trump' as thousands rally in support of equal rights in Sydney, New South Wales EPA In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome People shout and hold signs during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A protester holds a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille A placard ready 'Pussy grabs back' is attached to the handle bar of a bike during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A young Thai girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Womens March participants gathered in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok A Thai woman takes a photo of a "hate is not great" sign at the women's solidarity gathering in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Bangkok American expats and travellers gather with the international community in Bangkok at the Roadhouse BBQ restaurant to stand in solidarity in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protetesters gather outside The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Women's March at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Marseille Protestors hold placards reading 'My body my choice, my vote my voice' during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Rome A person holds a sign during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activist Sarah Annay Williamson holds a placard and shouts slogan during the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Kolkata Activists participate in the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A Women's March placards are rested on a bench outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London A women carries her placard ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila Women protesters shout slogans while displaying placards during a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President Donald Trump, in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Protesters take part in the Melbourne rally to protest against the Trump Inauguration in Melbourne, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters take part in the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Melbourne Womens march on Melbourne protestors marching during a rally where rights groups marched in solidarity with Americans to speak out against misogyny, bigotry and hatred Rex In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau, Macau. The Women's March originated in Washington DC but soon spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Manila A mother carries her son as they join a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney An infant is held up at a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman attends a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydney A woman expresses her Anti-Trump views in Sydney, Australia Getty Images In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump Sydeney Protesters demonstrate against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia. The marches in Australia were organised to show solidarity with those marching on Washington DC and around the world in defense of women's rights and human rights Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters march from The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square towards Trafalgar Square during the Women's March in London, England Getty In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump London Protesters carrying banners take part in the Women's March on London, as they stand in Trafalgar Square, in central London Reuters

Then look across the Atlantic to the state of American politics before Donald Trump appeared on the scene. The famous gridlock in Washington was partly the result of the Republican Party believing that, if it could not take power, then it would do all it could to prevent its adversaries from governing successfully.

Finally go to France, where it sometimes seems as if all its leading politicians have had brushes with the law – François Fillon right now, Nicholas Sarkozy and Alain Juppé in the recent past, and before that President Chirac himself, who, after he retired, was convicted of diverting public funds, abuse of trust and illegal conflict of interest. He was given a suspended sentence so that he did not have to go to prison.