Strongmen come out of societal stress or collapse, over the desire for someone, anyone, to fix things.

Whilst the strongman and his cronies may only want power, a democracy can collapse because its citizens do not see the danger.

They may give special powers, or ignore weakening of key institutions, because he is "fixing things" with a strong arm and will.

And by weakening key parts of a democracy, it leaves it more open, susceptible to a strongman to succeed in subverting the current state.

Maybe even decades away.

Many areas of the world were democratic, and fell into this trap, and are now stuck there.

Some have tried to go back to democracy, or forge a democratic state for the first time, and fall due to this same fallacy.

Change is not fast enough, so "just do something, anything!".

So yes, my comparison is completely fair.