Generally, politicians are doomed to fail because most of them seem incapable of recognising when the jig is up, writes Euan McColm.
I don’t often quote the late Enoch Powell, a man who was wrong – sometimes dangerously so – about much.
But, when not sharing his disturbing views about race and immigration, the MP – who represented the Conservatives then the Ulster Unionists at Westminster – possessed a certain wisdom. His view about the termination of political careers has, for example, frequently been proved correct.
“All political lives,” said Powell, “unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.”
Any number of senior political figures now surveying the wreckage of their careers would struggle to disagree. In recent years, David Cameron, Alex Salmond, Jeremy Corbyn, and Liz Truss are among those who have proved the accuracy of the adage.
Generally, politicians are doomed to fail because most of them seem incapable of recognising when the jig is up. When the tide starts to go out on their careers, they convince themselves they can refloat things. I have been a winner in the past and so I can be again. The people will come back to me.
The truth is, this never happens. Once a political career has started to sink, it’s a straightforward matter of how quickly it will go down. Voters aren’t in the business of throwing lifebelts.
Ardern is leaving office on her own terms
The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, may just have escaped this fate.
After six years in the job, the 42-year-old’s announcement that she is to step down within weeks came as a huge surprise. Energetic and young, Ardern appeared to have time to spare.
But, she said, having thought things over, she’d decided there wasn’t “enough in the tank” to continue as PM. The stresses of recent years, including leading through the darkest days of the coronavirus pandemic, had taken its toll, and she was burned out.
Wow. This quote from Jacinda Ardern’s resignation: ‘Hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused…that you can be your own kind of leader, one who knows when it’s time to go’..
pic.twitter.com/gsBc09qij3— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) January 19, 2023
It is true that Ardern’s Labour Party faces a battle to win the next New Zealand elections in October, and, inevitably, there will be the accusation that she has decided to jump before the pushing started. But let’s, just for fun, take her at her word.
Isn’t it refreshing to hear a senior politician admit they’ve had enough? Isn’t there a rare dignity in this decision?
As is so often the case in politics, events got in the way. Ardern’s social justice crusade was knocked off course by Covid
Ardern has achieved a great deal during her political career. On taking office, she was the youngest female national leader in the world. She has been praised by colleagues and opponents for her conciliatory tone.
But, as is so often the case in politics, events got in the way. Ardern’s social justice crusade was knocked off course by Covid. Inevitably, the pandemic decisions she took divided public opinion.
By deciding to quit now, Jacinda Ardern leaves office on her own terms. If only more leaders possessed such self-awareness.
Euan McColm is a regular columnist for various Scottish newspapers
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