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How Do You Pick An Honest MP?

by ppeggy | September 1, 2007 at 09:31 am

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Who do you think should sit on a jury to pick a Member of Parliament worthy of receiving a $10,000 award for integrity? That's a tough one.

A wealthy Conservative senator, Consiglio De Nino, is setting up such an award but he can't find anyone willing to serve as a juror. The honour aims to recognize one member of Parliament every year for being both effective and honest.

"I have no problem saying the vast majority of members of the House of Commons are honourable members. I am not going to be stupid and say we all are because some of us are not," he said.

De Nino hopes the award will help elevate the opinion people have of parliamentarians. It won't be easy. People have regarded politicians with suspicion since the beginning of organized government.

"Under every stone lurks a politician", said Aristophanes. "We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to office", said Aesop. Bob Edwards commented, "Now I know what a statesman is; he's a dead politician. We need more statesmen". Charles de Gaulle observed that "since a politician never believes what he says, he is quite surprised to be taken at his word". Maureen Murphy said the reason there are so few female politicians is "that it is too much trouble to put makeup on two faces". Simon Cameron defined an honest politician as one who, "when bought, will stay bought". And H.L. Mencken said "a good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar".

I'm sure Consiglio Di Nino would appreciate some help on this.

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Jordan Yerman

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 09:41 on September 1st, 2007

This is a super-important issue, couched in a seemingly-small story. The difference between political ideology and political practice lies (in my mind) in the path to office: such is the expense of getting elected that would-be politicos need more sponsorships than a NASCAR vehicle, and, as such, end up owing a lot of people a lot of favors, not necessarily to do with what they've been telling potential voters on all those bought-and-paid-for adverts.

ppeggy

at 10:07 on September 1st, 2007

You are so right. This is a huge issue that gets at the very foundation of our society. A dear friend, Sheldon Chumir, made the issue his life's work many years ago. He was a Rhodes scholar, a civil rights lawyer, a well-known intellectual, a model of honesty and integrity and, for several years, a member of the Alberta Legislature. He was still young when he died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma about 17 years ago but he left, as a lasting legacy, a Foundation dedicated to the promotion of integrity in politics - the Sheldon Chumir Foundation. It was because of him that I first understood the seriousness of the undermining happening in our democratic system on every level because of a lack of ethics and integrity in the operation of government. And it is probably because of this understanding that I notice stories in the media related to this issue, like the one I highlighted here. I give the Senator high points for trying to reward positive work.