History is full of ironies, and tends to repeat itself.
Flashback to 2002: Tung Chee-hwa, then chief executive, introduced the ministerial structure he called the 'accountability system' - a term that was itself something of an irony, as it turned out - with the aim of strengthening governance.
It was followed by a tumultuous 12 months that so upset the governed that half a million of them took to the streets in an unprecedented protest on July 1, 2003.
And that was followed 20 months later by the resignation of Mr Tung two years before the end of his second term.
Fast-forward to this year: Donald Tsang Yam-kuen introduced phase two of the 'accountability system' in May, installing two more layers of political appointees - and triggering a fresh round of governance problems that bordered on political crisis.
Mr Tsang's popularity rating fell to 50.2 out of 100 in early December from 54.5 in November - and his high of 72.3 in June 2005 - the lowest since he succeeded Mr Tung in 2005.
That could not have been more ironic, as the appointment of eight undersecretaries and nine political assistants had been designed as a signature initiative by Mr Tsang to boost governance in his second term.
