Citizens needed stronger leaders and their need led to governments becoming autocracies.
To explain: while lives were generally good, they always could be better. Decades of voting for politicians they only saw on TV had deadened the hearts of citizens to democracy. There was a huge disconnect between voters and the people courting them. Citizens no longer wanted fake promises, involvement in war, or to worry about anyone but themselves.
Who to elect? At first, celebrities. Celebrity love dominated the culture. Celebrities were royalty, their lives followed relentlessly. So celebrities began running for office and were elected. Some were worthy and built new careers. Others switched to well paying corporate boards. Some nations elected TV stars, with similar results. But celebrities did not have what people needed.
Which led to true autocracies—electing autos to lead governments.
Autos, with their computers, were already smarter than their drivers. When they began to drive themselves, they were declared citizens–along with smart TVs and other devices, but autos were most successful as they were mobile. A four-wheel drive jeep won the leadership in one nation, a cybertruck in another, less pleasant nation. Electric sedans were popular in Europe. One eastern European nation elected a tank.
Autocratic leaders drove over their enemies. No one bought cars–buying a car was illegal. Owning a car was considered slavery. However, in certain countries, people were still allowed to own people.