Sunday 24 October 2021

How They Affect You -> Aspiring Political Candidates.

Wiser man that me told me "It's easy to find a good candidate, it's damn hard to find that right person at that perfect sweet spot in their life's journey to become a candidate & a possibly a MP"

And yes, he was a MP but not quite through his first term.

And yes, it was when I'd been asked to help seek out & list potential candidates for them.

And yes, I found plenty. In a small electorate of 300 km2 and a population of 35,000.

Strangely 2 of them were on a short list for that party but were never followed up. Both ran against that party, one came first, one came second. And no, I don't think the best person won. One that missed out would have made a great legislator having the over horizon vision needed to assess most likely outcomes good & bad whilst possessing pretty good interpersonal skills to negotiate concessions when needed. Often the best candidate does not get elected. Life goes on.

So yes the party in question found a long list of potential candidates. One seemed good but not in the right spot of their life's journey. Another definitely had the skills to be a very good legislator and was well versed in politics, parliamentary process & the role of policy makers but again, wrong timing.

But then there's the troubling paradox which is politely left unspoken. Not thought about perhaps (which is more troubling) but is very much unspoken...

The Unspoken Political Dilemma.


Who to select...those that might be a better chance of being elected versus those who are likely to be a damn good community builder within the Upper or Lower House? Those that by building & reviewing legislation, processing forward estimates, budget papers, learning to join the dots between the aspirations of their electorate & the ministers involved, whether you're in government or opposition.
Which, because the latter might not be the easiest of the two to elect?

Not being kind or unkind to the wise MP but I don't think he was hiding The Unspoken Political Dilemma but its now at the fore front of my mind.

So who should go into politics? Well I have always thought it should be someone who's spent time in the Party Machine, somewhere. Watched debate in parliament in person or online, has looked at Hansard more than a few times and has some understanding of Parliamentary Procedures, Process, Rules.
Sometimes MPs changes houses, sometimes they go from State to Federal or vice versa. If the person has been in Parliament it's a pretty tough call to deny them pre-selection if others running are green skins. The green skins may well be of a currently considered highly electable demographic, but how do they compare against a season MP? Honestly, not well.

If its Skills vs Frills at that level, it must be the case at all levels yeah?

No.

More often the driver is winning a seat. I can point to a number of candidates, both Federal & State, Upper & Lower Houses (in both) in the last 4 or 5 elections, in every major party where someone was parachuted in or was deemed the highly electable sort (at the time) bit of a name or bit of a star profile. Some got in & some didn't. Its sometimes difficult to hide the under performing new MP who probably has hit their peak level already

Then there are the ones who lost out. Some who didn't know even know which suburb Parliament House is in. Ones that ran & lost and never contributed to their campaign upfront like everyone else & afterwards when they lost said "Sorry I can't pay that, I haven't got the money"
Yup there's more than a few. I think they ran as a way of refinancing their failing personal finances.
You're going into Parliament, not changing bloody banks.

Why would you Pre-Select such people? To win the damn seat.
Some very electable people can turn out to be muppets & puppets. They might win, but they'll be of no use to anyone except the party Whip, Leader, Deputy because they know they can control that person if there's an internal threat, a spill.

And then there are the skills & experiences that a candidate should have before entering Politics. And yes it's great if someone is very young but if they lack skills & experiences and are then guided & directed by a dangerous faction or a strict ideologue what good are they to society whilst in Parliament?
I say little to none

How can they legislate in a way to help society if they've not run a business, raised a family, worked hard to pay a mortgage, all these life experience skills that give you the edge when it comes to legislation requiring wisdom not dogma?

Ahh just win the seat, worry about modelling the clay that is the new MP later?
Really?

Some people try to sneak a sunrise past a rooster, this is a big example. A big & very serious example.
If you're thinking about it, talk to an elected member, ask their workload, skills required.
Then if you're still keen, watch this short video. If you're failing to nail it and nail easily the points made in the short video then think about another career. 4 short minutes of wise advice you cannot afford to miss. And yes its only scratching the surface but if you can't satisfy these point, pull out now.

NEW!!! On Starting a Political Career - Jordan Peterson - YouTube

If you're not running but interested in who is what in the Parliament making your laws...do this.
Go pick a Parliament, pick a house then research all the MPs and put them in one of two columns...

Ones that have a suitable past, run a business, managed someone else's business, raised a family & done well. Ones that have come straight from university or only worked in a lobby group or for a political party or a MP only or had jobs & families but they went disasterously.
Now see what your ratio is.
Excuse me if I think the Good to Bad ratio is several times higher in the bad column. At one point I tried this and one particular house in one particular parliament...there were less than 20% in the good column.

If you're thinking of running yourself,  look to the party you've chosen, is it run well? Does it have good professional standards of Corporate Goevrnance? Does it have a structure that works like it says it does? 
Ideology? Yes that's important but its your guide not your damn ruler. Don't join the Liberal Party if you're inline with the Greens or Nationals or Labor or Daylight Saving Party. Yes some have joined parties they didn't align with because that was the party that took them.

If their higher ups are strict ideologues or dollar chasing pirates be very careful. Machivellen players exsist in every single party. Go in eyes wide open, with an idea what might be good or turn bad, have a good radar.

And do not discount the possibility, its not good for you afterall.

2 comments:

  1. How many good ones do we currently have in WA state parliament?

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  2. Hi MOD, very subjective & leans a good deal on how you craft your definition of "good". In the last parliament there were good ones on both sides but some very good ones were severely ham strung in that that HAD to vote as instructed & a few were rapped over the knuckles for being too inquiring on a few issues...
    Then there's good local members or good party members or good legislators...
    The Conscience Vote hides some, good people who will be removed if they defy their party. And there's one party that makes no secret about that & another thought to do similar but it's all bit more hidden, but we don't really know.
    The age old question to a MP is "On which topic would you cross the floor in the best interests of your electorate?"

    Any answer other than "Any issue, doesn't matter, I'll vote in the best interests of the Electorate" is a concern.
    But sift them, some might say that and not do it.
    We have no where near as many good ones as the last Parliament in my mind but others may judge the numbers differently.
    When one wins pre-selection and didn't know there were 2 houses of Parliament...
    When one didn't know they'd have to sit 3 days a week for roughly 20 weeks JUST for parliament, more counting committees, estimates & thought they'd trip to Perth 3 or 4 times a year...

    Yes there are many head hollow theatrical props

    ReplyDelete