The making of a politician

Running for public office can be daunting.  Putting yourself and your views out for public scrutiny is scary.  I suppose this has always been the case but it is particularly so since the advent of the internet.  Good people who run in an election need a thick skin and your encouragement.  As I wrote in an earlier post, most people should be encouraged.   They run for office for good and caring reasons.  But what happens to these good people after they become politicians?

About 8 years ago before I became a school trustee, I attended an education conference in Toronto.  It might have been the annual People for Education conference, which I highly recommend, or an event sponsored by The Learning Partnership.   The important feature was that it brought together different people interested in education under one roof.

I remember two moments from that conference.  The first was that a trustee from another school board encouraged me to run for office.  Her gesture was very kind and meant a lot to me, although there have been a few days since when I was more likely to curse than thank her.  This trustee and I became good friends and although politics can be hard, I have no regrets about running.

The other part I remember is hearing an older trustee speak on a panel.  This gentleman was well on in age and he said something that I found rather peculiar.  He said that in his school board, the board meetings are scheduled on the same evenings as the school council meetings.  Why?  Because school trustees didn't want to hear or didn't want to know parents' complaints.  He felt that if he heard some parents first-hand, it would influence his decision-making ability in the boardroom.

At the time, this struck me as rather strange.  Why wouldn't a politician want to keep in touch with his constituents?  Why wouldn't a person responsible for governing an institution want to hear complaints?  Why would a thoughtful man want to keep himself ignorant?  Now I understand a little better.

The use of various mechanisms within political practice, such as plausible deniability, creates a win-win situation for politicians and bureaucrats.  It's not just staff in a school board, city hall or legislature who want to keep politicians in the dark; many politicians want this too.  It works for both sides and the "good politician" who is willing to play the game, soon learns not to make waves and not to ask certain questions.

I was given advice by a veteran politician shortly after I became a trustee.  It was, "Play ball with staff.  Defer to staff."  Sadly for me, I suppose, I never got the hang of this and I continue to ask questions.  Perhaps it's arrogance and I delude myself to think that I am a better politician in trying to understand a very complex system.

Even though I'm not one, I have a lot of sympathy for the "good politician."  The system really is so incredibly complicated with a great many traps.  I think most new politicians must feel overwhelmed and many strike an informal deal with their staff - I will not make waves and will support staff initiatives if you support and protect me.  Of course none of this is actually said.  It simply becomes the dynamics of the interaction between the two groups -- an understanding.

At some point, the politician makes a choice.  Although the bureaucracy works to keep politicians in the dark, it's the politician him or herself who makes the decision to stay in the dark.  Through this arrangement, staff  maintains control by limiting contact to the politician.  In return, the politician may get some protection with a bail-out in a difficult situation or perhaps staff assistance with a project that works to the politician's benefit.

Of course all this is used to comedic effect in older TV shows like Yes Minister and we even saw it illustrated on the show the West Wing, where the politician in question was a principled and brilliant president.  The point is that most politicians either learn to play the game or their political party and staff will find ways to ensure they do.

I now have free rein to speak and as a school trustee, I don't need to worry about the influence of a political party.  Still I can assure you that even without the influence of a party, there are mechanisms used to try and silence outspoken politicians though we are learning just this week that they don't always work.

It is an extraordinary politician who can pick his way through this ethical mine field unscathed and we honour those rare politicians, such as Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi, who do survive.  The winners in this game are not simply those who cling to office. That's easy enough to do.  The real winners are the leaders who inspire us and leave public office with their integrity largely intact.


The views expressed in this post are personal opinions only.