Select a region
Harold Macmillan was once asked what the most troubling problem of his Prime Ministership was. "Events, my dear boy, events," was his reply.
I have recently returned from taking part in a Jersey Overseas Aid project in Kenya and noted the country was entering election time.
Across the City of Nairobi, and the small towns and villages, there were hundreds of posters on display with the faces of those seeking the people's votes declaring their suitability to govern.
The General Election in Kenya takes place on 9 August and includes the election of a new President as well as both National and Regional government.
I have been interested in politics all my adult life and asked some of the Kenyans I had the privilege to meet and work alongside what their hopes were from the new government? The answers were all very straightforward and simply put! An end to the decades of corruption and to stem the flow of investment by the government of, `The People's Republic of China'. Across not only Kenya but the African continent the evidence of China's influence can be observed with massive infrastructure projects taking place.
Pictured: Kenya's General Election takes place on the 9th August and includes the election of a new President as well as both National and Regional government.
The Kenyans I spoke to are deeply worried by the country's indebtedness and how the corruption in some parts of their government has worsened.
Jersey’s General Election is now over, a new Council of Ministers appointed under a new Chief Minister and most of the other key posts also filled. Chief Minister, Kristina Moore has published her first ‘100 hundred days’ agenda and the dust post-election appears to be settling.
The phrase '100 days' refers to the first hundred days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration, stretching from March 9 to June 16, 1933, when an unprecedented number of reform bills were passed by a Democratic Congress to launch the New Deal.
This term seems to have been resurrected many times over recent years and popular amongst new administrations. However, newly elected governments also inherit the pending trays of the former administration, and as well meaning as our new government may well be in setting out their ‘action plan’, there is an awful lot of unfinished business that needs to be tackled as well!
The UK’s Tory Party has its own election going on currently as the Conservative Party seeks to find a new leader and Prime Minister. The candidates have the challenge of beating their rivals to secure the approval not only of colleagues but also individual party members. The media are having fun unpacking the back stories of those seeking the top job and social media as ever provides a space for the cynics, critics and others to air opinions on who should get or not get the job and why?
Only today I read a post about the candidate currently leading the race, former Chancellor Rishi Sunak. The post told us all about Mr Sunak and his wife’s wealth, the number of properties they own, and accuses him of not caring about ‘real people’ because he stopped, for example, the extra £20 per week paid out during the pandemic to those on Universal Credit - nothing about the reason why Mr Sunak chose not to live a life of luxury and just enjoy his wealth but instead stand and serve not only for election as an MP but also now after serving in one of the great offices of state, seek to fill the top job.
Well, as for this armchair critic I'm more interested in the person(s) who govern, and what their values are - not what they are worth. In other words, what do they believe in and are they determined to govern for the common good?
Pictured: "The UK's Tory Party has its own election going on currently as the Conservative Party seeks to find a new leader."
In philosophy, economics, and political science, the common good (also commonwealth, general welfare, or public benefit) refers to either what is shared and beneficial for all or most members of a given community, or alternatively, what is achieved by citizenship, collective action, and active participation in the realm of politics and public service.
Whether it be the government of Kenya or Jersey we need men and women in government who understand their roles as public servants and govern accordingly.
Whoever succeeds in the elections taking place in Kenya, or the Conservative Party as it seeks to find a new leader and now, post-election, Deputy Kristina Moore - events as they unfold may well conspire to scupper their plans as indeed did the pandemic for so many government agendas.
The common good must surely always be the number one priority for any government, but sadly however, as history confirms, it is so easily and readily forgotten even during its first 100 hundred days.
