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Recovering backpacker, Cornwallite at heart, political enthusiast, catalyst, writer, husband, father, community volunteer, unabashedly proud Canadian. Every hyperlink connects to something related directly or thematically to that which is highlighted.

Saturday 21 September 2013

Political Fairness



Of course, politics isn't about fairness.  Look across the aisle - do you think any of her opponents (or for that matter, large swaths of her team) care about fairness? 

The only code in politics is "win, then spin."

But there's more to government than politics.  There's also leadership.

Leadership is about creating the conditions for success - for your mission, your constituency and your team - and in that order.  Leaders don't even put themselves on the list - if they do their job well, their team will carry that part for them without need of whipping.

As Premier of Ontario, it's incumbent on Wynne to put the interests of the province and the Legislature ahead of those of her Party, meaning not kicking the Opposition when they're down.  When it comes to a choice between a direction that if better in aggregate but provides a win/misses an opportunity to trap the opposition vs. a lesser piece of policy that scores partisan points, leaders will always take the first choice.

After all, leaders leave no one behind, which is why we trust them to lead all of us in the first place.
It doesn't mean hugging the thugs you would stand against, so much as ensuring you have the best competition to truly  challenge your ideas and practises, ensuring the best possible result.

We don't see a lot of leadership in Canadian politics these days, which helps explain much of the democratic malaise we're facing now.

For anyone actually interested in leading, there's a lesson in this.

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