There's a direct relationship between mediocrity and authoritarianism. Authoritarians value loyalty over competence, and so attract those who know they can never accomplish success based on their competence, but have a chance through groveling subservience to the authoritarian.

Authoritarian administrations have an anti-meritocratic culture. Smart people are pushed out, silenced, jailed, or killed. Critical thinking is seen as treason. This is one reason why authoritarian administrations fail so spectacularly in times of crisis.

And when the crisis actually hits, authoritarian administrations act like finding a scapegoat solves the problem. The actual problem doesn't need to be solved. This is their only playbook. This is because their imperative isn't to serve, but to have & keep power at all cost.