“With great power, comes great responsibility”, said Peter Parker’s Uncle. Words that he and his alter-ego, Spider-man, live by. Good words to guide a good soul, I feel, and yet it seems that every member of our governmental cabinet have either never watched Spider-Man or they feel that pursuing the Green Goblin’s agenda would suit them better.
It seems to me to be perfect sense to act like a model citizen if you are in the public eye, and yet it would seem to me that the only people who actually aspire to being politicians are the perverted, drunken, drug-addict or incompetent minority of the country who are the very last people on the planet that we would actually want to have any power at all, let alone to decide on our behalf how the country should be run.
Perhaps there should be some sort of entrance exam to becoming a politician; Are you any of the following: alcoholic, pervert, junkie, bigot, easily led? If you ticked one of these then you cannot be a politician. If you ticked more than one then move directly to Parliament…
I just don’t understand why politicians don’t accept that their position comes at a price, to put aside their personality quirks and act in the best interests of the people that they represent. And if they fall by the wayside through indiscretions (cough Prescott) or sheer incompetence (cough cough Clarke) then they should be made to step aside and let someone with greater commitment to the needs of the country to have a pop at screwing up.
However, perhaps I am being a little mean. Was it Lord Acton who said Power tends to corrupt? Perhaps these people began as honest, hardworking people with a genuine drive to make Britain a better place, and that it is simply the process of attaining, wielding and abusing power that they creep slowly towards the dark side.
