As I see it after thinking about it for decades, Respect is like Tolerance - a social contract were one should only Respect those who Respect others.
From here follows that people in positions of authority only ever deserve Respect if said authority position is to work for the common good and they're actually responsible wielders of that authority.
As it so happens very few people in positions of authority actually do that, probably because IMHO people with a very high sense of responsability towards others tend to fell a strong weight of responsability when given a level authority that has a high impact on others, which is unpleasant so they are repelled by such positions, whilst the ones who couldn't care less about other people do not feel such weight and as they are attracted by the benefits they can extract for themselves from having said authority, often seek having such authority.