Opinion | Hong Kong's political system must be fundamentally reformed to allow parties to lead

We have to be prepared for the worst. And the worst, right now, is being stuck with the electoral arrangements that yielded the current chief executive.

And what does that mean, exactly? Just 1,200 electors choose for the rest of us. Whoever gets elected would need to face the same dysfunctional political system, in which political party affiliation is disallowed, little gets done, no one wins, and a whole lot of people are furious all the time.

We will continue to be stuck with a political system that denies the chief executive political support, because the constitution says so, but expects the executive to lead. A leader with no actual political power, made to do the bulk of political work, doesn't work - no matter how strongly Beijing backs him.

Universal suffrage may be able to fix a little bit of that problem, but not a whole lot of it. It just shifts the burden of political support to the masses. In theory, the masses would pressure legislators to lend a political hand to someone they picked. But in reality, our legislature will continue to hang on to its power to obstruct - it's most powerful and, arguably, only political weapon.

Granted, we don't have to look far to see how overblown party politics can cripple the most "democratic" system. But that's not the reason to reject party politics all together. The key lies in achieving a careful balance, one that gives the power at the helm the support it requires, and one that nurtures political parties to do more than just say "yes" or "no". When political parties are expected to lead, they will be forced - or incentivised - to do better, be more accountable, be more politically creative, and be more relevant as problem solvers instead of being the problem themselves.

If we were to continue with what we have right now, Hong Kong will only deteriorate further, with society becoming even more polarised.