Rebuilding trust in public institutions will take more than a federal Icac, but work on it has begun

‘Last week’s jobs and skills summit was more than just a “talkfest” – it was a model for a more inclusive and civil way of exercising power.’ Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The Albanese government is preparing to table legislation to create a federal integrity commission in the face of a growing crisis in liberal democracy around the world.

Last week’s warning from the US president, Joe Biden, of the fragility of the American experiment to “an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic” presages the march of authoritarianism from Ankara to Budapest, Kyiv to Taipei.