Giving more power to the government will make it less responsive to the people
When people feel free to say whatever they want, then this provides useful feedback for the government about how well it's doing with the people and gives the government an opportunity to change, before it's too late.
The main advantage of democracy isn't that it's nice and treats people well. Some of the worst atrocities have been committed by democracies, such as the genocide of Native Indians in North America, slavery for African blacks, and the atomic bombing of civilians during World War II.
Democracies can be just as nasty as dictatorships. But democracies have relatively bloodless revolutions, compared to those of dictatorships. When people get upset enough, then they organize well enough together to throw out the establishment and change the government through the electoral process.
This mechanism doesn't exist in dictatorships. And that's why they need to be responsive in a different way. Or else powerful dictators become arrogant and people so upset, that it all ends in a bloody revolution and destruction of the country.