I will leave it to others to talk about what Keir Starmer did right and wrong in his two years as UK Prime Minister.
But two things struck me as we witnessed his not-so-voluntary resignation speech. First, the speed of his demise, from hero to has-been in just 720-odd days. And, second, the nasty sound of the leadership revolving door, flinging out another PM. Starmer’s dispatch makes him the seventh British PM in 10 years, with the last to serve a full term being David Cameron.
Sound familiar? It wasn’t that long ago that Australia had a rotating roster of prime ministers. Rudd, Gillard, Rudd, Abbott, Turnbull, Morrison, Albanese made it seven in a decade for us too (if you count Rudd twice).
In the Rudd-Gillard period, I worked for a Labor Cabinet Minister, and I remember plotters sliding in and out of the office and late-night meetings behind firmly closed doors. And while I kept myself apart from internal party machinations, I recall the intoxicating urgency of it all: the utter conviction of many that despite the Kevin 07 win, change had to be made, that Rudd had to go.
It wasn’t until years later that I could see how blinkered I had been: how much leader-swapping undermines faith in democracy and the parliament. How much it makes people doubt the value and power of their vote. These things are precious, and once lost, very hard to regain.
But it is not just about politicians behaving badly, it is about us as well. Sure we can disagree – a healthy democracy embraces debate and dissent. But if we demand a beheading when we do so, we play into the revolving door, and all the destruction it wreaks. If we treat political leaders like football coaches, to be replaced at will, we destabilise the very structures that guarantee our democratic rights. (I think we often get it wrong with footy coaches as well.)
All of this is not excuse-making for parliamentarians, but we must acknowledge the role that our expectations, our demands, have in shaping leaders. There is more than a grain of truth in the saying – we get the leaders we deserve.
My best bit for the week shifts to the leader no one deserves: a conversation between two former CNN White House correspondents Jim Acosta and John Harwood, seriously debating the possibility Donald Trump may walk away from the presidency. What? A fever dream of wishful thinking? It seems not, or at least not entirely. See what you think:
……………….
If you like our work, you can help. We take no corporate or government funding and run no ads and subscription is free. So please consider making a donation.
Catriona Jackson is the Chief Executive and Editor of Pearls and Irritations.