You mean, "Every nation gets the government it deserves"? Yes, I believe you are right.
I often see this quote interpreted with the meaning that each of us vote for the candidate we want to represent us, and by voting for stupid people we mirror our own stupidity (I do not suggest you interprets it in this way). I believe that this is a simplification of how we should understand De Maistre.
For a nation to get true representation of its people in its leaders, it requires active participation, critical thinking, and ongoing engagement from its citizens in all parts of society. People are not necessarily stupid when they choose stupid people in elections, they are guilty of not putting efforts into understanding societal matters and facts. They are more ignorant and lazy than stupid, i think.
This "I don't care" attitude is easy to exploit by people of religion and ideological faiths. People with an agenda for power, not for the sake of the better good but for their own goals. People in power have many ways of manipulating the public discourse, political processes and how information and truths are treated in education, media etc. Over time this creates a people that don't know their own best, and lack the resources and will to do anything about it.
The US is in the forefront of this development at the moment, however this is history rhyming itself.
I am currently reading Tim Urban's https://waitbutwhy.com/whatsourproblem . I think he is onto something in regards of how we get to these kinds of points in history.
