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Over the past few years the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’or ‘the Court’) has become the subject of criticism from many quarters, especially, but not exclusively from politicians. This chapter makes the point that the Court and its inner circle should not downplay the importance or deny the merit of this criticism. Rather than stirring up negative feelings against the Court, politicians are relaying signals they receive from their constituents. They are acting like a true friend, or zhanwei, who tells it like it is to the Court. The criticism that has been brought to the surface by the politicians reflects a growing loss of legitimacy by the ECtHR vis-à-vis the general public. This chapter poses the question: what has gone wrong and what can be done to restore support for the work of the Court? It proceeds in five sections. Section I discusses some of the criticism aimed at the Court and the way in which the judges have …