Re: I would have thought it was impossible
The problem (i.e. one of the problems) there is, the governing structure is unable to admit a mistake and must continue with whatever inept decision was taken in the first place.
China's pre-Xi Xinping governing system was better fitted to this. Set up by Deng Xiaoping after the death of Mao was this system where about every 5 years the Party would change its leadership at the Party Conference. New Prime Minster and change some Politburu members, then old PM becomes President and previous President retires.
This was really done because almost everybody in the Party hierarchy had been purged and/or imprisoned by Mao at some point in their carrer. Including Deng (and also Xi's father). So this way stopped any one leader from having too much power - and incentivised them not to piss off too many people, as they'd eventually be retiring themselves.
It also has the advantage that it naturally creates a space for politics. The Prime Minister is not in charge now, but will be next. Which gives them independent power from the President, and forces them to consult. There's also jockeying to be on the next slate of candidates promoted to the Politburu, so you naturally have to quietly campaign and this way there's always policy battles being fought with the personal ones. It's not the greatest system, but it allows flexibility. There's a group of people associated with a policy and if it fails, they probably lose out.
In extreme cases the party can disavow some policy disaster when the President goes by blaming it all on them, and moving on.
I've no idea what possessed the rest of the Party to hand back total power to one man again. But the inflexibility and purges are back too.
Once a policy is identified as Xi's policy it's very tough to change. When Covid cover-up first failed in late 2019 / early 2020 - Xi could personally step in and say he was taking over. But now his policy of Zero Covid is failing, he's nobody to blame. And if he's not infallible, then what's the point of him being dictator for life? This is how dictatorships ossify. After which they usually start to deteriorate.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
