Valete: Time to depart

Time to depart, and as States members line up to leave, a variety of reasons are given. I’ve given a sprinkling below of the kind of phrases politicians use when they relinquish power. Some reasons are genuine, but some are not.

When does a politician ever say that they know that the game is up (or words to that effect), and they would be unlikely to be re-elected if they stood again. Sometimes it is better to bow out with at least a modicum of dignity rather than be hammered at the polls. I have only spoken to one politician who confessed he saw himself as unelectable, and they later changed their mind.

Past candidates who spring to mind are potentially Frank Walker after a 3 year stint as Chief Minister and almost certainly Terry Le Sueur over what has to be one of the most rudderless Council of Ministers under a Chief Minister who dithered all the time, to the point when Bill Ogley resigned, he expressed surprise that it had happened even though he could see it unfolding before his eyes.

Back in those days, Senators were elected on a rolling three year cycle so both were elected Chief Minister without facing the electorate. In 2002, Frank Walker had scraped in 6th place. In 2005, Terry Le Sueur came in 5th place. When time came to do so, they prudently decided to leave on a high point, their OBEs intact, before the public very probably would have voted them out.

I only know one real case though of a politician who left because he would have lost heavily, and his supporters could see that, even if he could not. That is of Constable Len Downer, and that is because I knew a witness to the event, a man of unimpeachable integrity, who told me what happened. Len Downer had managed the singular feat of dividing the Parish, and the detailed history can be read here:
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2013/10/healing-divided-parish.html

When Enid Quenault announced her intention to stand for Constable of St Brelade, Len gathered his supporters at the Pisces Gym and asked how they were going to run his campaign. Rather like Margaret Thatcher discovered later, it is your own team who tell you home truths. They told him he was not going to stand, or if he decided to, it would be without their support, and they expected him to suffer a crushing defeat.

The Parish had been divided and scarred by a court case involving two of its officers, in which Len had unwisely taken the wrong side, and despite the Court ruling, refused to reinstate the officer.  Deputy Enid Quenault, now standing as Constable, was coming in to heal the divisions. Very wisely, Len decided, rather like Mrs Thatcher, to heed the advice given, and announced he would not stand again. But of course he didn’t explain why, except to give a variant on one of the reasons given below.

Human beings need a degree of dignity, and in these days of social media, where there is some pretty unpleasant gloating and language, you can hardly expect a politician who knows they have no chance whatsoever to confess that. They need some dignity.  

It is enough that we know who they are and their real reasons without expecting them to tell us that they know the game is up. We know those who politicians who, like the Emperor in Hans Christian Andersen's famous story, have only imaginary clothes, but there is no need for for them to tell us what is in plain site.

Reasons for Leaving Politics

“I would like to go on and do other things with my life."

“I have reluctantly decided that for reasons of health, age and my family’s needs...”

"I’ve decided that going now will give me the opportunity to do other things with my life and is therefore in the best interests of me and my family.”

““I think it’s always better to leave when people are asking why you’re going, rather than why you’re staying.”

"It has been an honour and privilege but I have decided not to seek re-election”

“After xxx years I have come to the decision that it time for a new generation to take up the mantle of representing my fantastic constituency.”

"The time has come for a new face and a new approach to representing the people of [insert district]”.

"Whilst I have no doubt as to my capacity and commitment to carry out my representative duties, I have begun to recognize that it might test the friendship and goodwill of so many people whose support I have enjoyed if I sought to do so for a further four  years."

"Sadly due to ill health I have decided not to stand for re-election. There is nothing more important or rewarding than helping people, however I need to be fully fit to be able to undertake the job properly."

““Every day has been a privilege and a pleasure but it can’t go on for ever and the electoral cycle means that each incumbent has to think again about what’s best for them”

“There are always lots of reasons when you make any big decisions. It's time now for me to make a difference in life outside of politics. It's also time that I do what is best for my wife and children, whom I love with all my heart."

“I know when it is time to stand down and pass on the baton."

“I would like a few years doing things I choose for myself and family matters."

“"After much soul-searching, I have decided not to stand in the 2018 General Election.”

“It had been an enormous privilege to represent the constituency. But he said it was a good opportunity to do other things”

“To give up the job I love serving the people I came from has been the hardest decision of my life.”

“It is sometimes said that all political careers end in failure.”

“'After much deliberation, I have made the difficult decision not to stand as Deputy for a second term.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of representing the parishioners and for being given the opportunity of participating in the States Assembly.”