“On top of that, he’s either outlasted or gotten rid of those cardinals and bishops who might have opposed him in any meaningful way. As in the current election problem in the US, there’s no leader of the opposition.”
That was done by the cardinals that selected him.
Bergoglio was the “winner” of a fraudulent election. Cardinal Scola of Milan, who was conservative, was actually dressing to go out on the balcony and was receiving congratulations on his election when they had another vote...at which Bergoglio won. Somebody had slipped an extra, blank ballot into the final vote for Scola, which invalidated it, and in the subsequent vote, the Sankt Galen Mafia (think Dems) was able to muscle enough votes to get him in.
I just read that Bergoglio is claiming that his sciatica will prevent him from celebrating mass for New Years. Mass is the thing he likes least. I think he regards Our Lord as a rival, because, after all, Bergoglio is the most important figure in the Church, right?