EDITORIAL: Politics is a thankless job, unless you’re dead!
This week's editorial in The Nationalist
Politics in this country is a thankless job, unless you’re dead of course and then you were most likely a great man or woman.
For most Irish politicians, the only time they will hear how great they are/were, is when they have passed on and depending on what you believe in or don’t believe in; it might be too late at that stage.
It’s how most people are spoken about at their funerals; they’re remembered fondly - it’s a tradition Irish people are usually not prepared to break. But politics undoubtedly puts that unwritten rule to the test.
There is a tradition of distrust in the political class in this country. And perhaps rightly so!
The Irish public appear to have a general disdain for politicians and politics is by and large a thankless job if you’re looking for a pat on the back and a congratulations for all your hard work for the electorate.
You’ll have your supporters and your voters of course, every politician does, but they will seem quite small in the sea of vitriol and bile that faces every elected official in this country from councillor to TD.
There’s also the odd upheaval too, when even your own party can turn on you!
Tipperary TD, Alan Kelly, resigned as Labour Party leader last week having supposedly been ousted by his colleagues, owing to a lack of confidence in him.
With such a low public opinion of being a politician and with parties prepared to even turn on party leaders, you’d have to ask, what is attractive about entering politics these days?
How do we convince the right people to enter this dirty game?
People, who by their very nature, would lose or wouldn’t get far because of their unwillingness or inability to “play the game” but who might serve those that elected them and devote their time to those people.
There is that one incentive of course and that is the salaries, the expenses, the top-ups. But does all that even make it worth it when all careers seem destined to end in ignominy.
Don’t worry too much about that though, everyone will have a kind word to say about you when you’re gone. Well, they might!