Political Accountability - Above Politics 60

Martin and guest host ATS member Budski, who steps in this week for Homer, discuss the G20 summit in London, the continual bonuses to bailed out banks and insurance companies, UK MPs expenses. These are all unpinned by a common thread that Budski reveals - Accountability. Finally the new government in Israeli and PR are focused on.







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ABOVE POLITICS Number 60, with Martin Bain and Homer Fife, from AboveTopSecret.com.
Show length is 29:34.
Direct link to show MP3 file: atsmix_3257.mp3 (10 mb)
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[edit on 4/6/2009 by Dave Rabbit]

I wanted to record my thanks to Budski for stepping up and hosting the show with me while Homer was away.

A great job Budski.

And yes Homer is back this week

reply to post by Martin Bain


My pleasure Martin - it was slightly nerve wracking, but fun

Term limits wouldn't really work under the Westminster system . You would have to put term limits in place on every MP . While I agree with the observation that I have heard concerning career politicians lacking in other experiences that would serve them well . It can take a sitting MP three terms to enter government little alone cabinet .

I wonder if term limits had been in place if Helen Clark would have gained the experience necessary for her role at the UN ?

reply to post by xpert11


It could be said that that is exactly what is wrong with the system - it is designed to perpetuate the status quo, and reward mediocrity if an MP has "done his time" rather than a dynamic system which changes as it needs to.

reply to post by budski


Great Job Budski!

MM

Originally posted by budski
It could be said that that is exactly what is wrong with the system - it is designed to perpetuate the status quo, and reward mediocrity if an MP has "done his time" rather than a dynamic system which changes as it needs to.

The unfortunate truth is that what you describe exists in the private sector as much as it does in politics . Anybody who has been to a job interview knows that the answers you give are more important then your qualifications and any work you did towards them . Interestedly a private sector version of term limits has never been mooted as a fix to the shallow depths of society . Only the branches come close to term limits in the way they operate is the branches of the armed services because they rotate personal thou various assignments for a number of reasons . Although as Hackworth noted in About Face in Vietnam the US Army rotated its Platoon commanders every three months much to its detriment . Perhaps this is worth heeding even if it is distanced from the role of MPs in Parliament .

I disagree.

I don't know about your experience of the business world, but my new jobs and subsequent rapid promotion were based on merit and ability to actually do the job I was applying for, and I was far from the exception to the rule.

Most people go into politics these days, because they are attracted to power and the money that said power brings.

The arrogance of politicians is truly astounding:
Jacqui Smith Interview

This is far from an isolated case.

There have been reports of MPs threatening to "call in the lawyers" and use "guerilla tactics" as they strive to keep their expenses secret, but as they say to us, if they've got nothing to hide, they've got nothing to worry about.

There have also been reports of MPs frantically redacting expense receipts, trying to take advantage of the rule that allows them to block out anything which might be a security risk - and all the while they are doing this, they are not doing the jobs they are paid to do.

This clearly shows where their priorities lie - and it's certainly not with representing their constituents.

As I said in the interview, their is little accountability, and MPs are more interested in protecting their chances of re-election than they are in doing what is best for the country.

Look at any election, and they will go back on a previous stance in order to placate constituents, and then conveniently forget once they are back in westminster.

They are PUBLIC servants - yet they seem to think that WE are their servants.

Edit to add
This article pretty much proves my point.

[edit on 8/4/2009 by budski]

Politicians are supposed to serve the people of their respective nation. How are politicians going to serve their nation if people in their nation are always betraying their nation by focusing on the international arena first? Politicians should focus first on their homeland and then abroad but it's not going to help if politicians never can focus on their home nation and they're focused on other nations more than themselves.