Politicians are people too

Now that the dust has settled somewhat on ‘golfgate’, it might be a good time to reflect on its impact on our democracy. The last number of weeks have been fascinating in Irish politics, or at the very least, political theatre. From the moment the story broke that more than 80 of ‘the great and the good’ gathered to wine and dine in Clifden, it was clear that a line had been crossed in terms of political accountability. The sense of outrage was palpable, and the attendees were not helped that it coincided with new restrictions being announced, and in particular the mini-lockdown in three counties. 

However, I’m not convinced that it was all good in terms of democratic accountability in Ireland. To be clear – the golfing dinner in Clifden displayed huge misjudgement and arrogance by members of our political class. I’m not particularly shedding tears over any of the resignations that have resulted, but we should carefully consider how we adjudicate these matters and the demand for ‘heads on plates’ to satisfy our anger and frustration.

I’m going to write something that I suspect won’t be popular - Politicians are people too. Over many years of providing training to campaigning organisations as to how they influence the political system, I have run a pretty standard exercise which almost always provides the same results. I ask participants to list words and phrases they associate with politicians. Cute, dishonest, lazy, overpaid, ‘in it for themselves’ are among the responses that quickly fill a whiteboard. But then, moving immediately to the question of ‘how do you view your own local TD or Councillor’ I get very different responses. Hardworking, helpful, knowledgeable, approachable, decent etc. And of course it leads to an interesting discussion when it dawns on everyone that these are the very same people they had just disparaged. 

The politicians we get reflect the wider community. Arguably more so in Ireland than in other democracies given a number of factors including our size as a country and our multi-seat constituency method of electing representatives. The most common route in Irish politics is local community involvement, election to local council, followed by election to the Dáil, and ultimately depending on factors including ability, luck and geography, the privilege to serve as a Minister.

The level of dehumanisation of politicians in the commentary over the past number of weeks should be of huge concern. But it follows a pattern of vitriol that is directed at politicians for some time. Threats of physical harm are pretty standard, and the level of threat is much greater for women in politics. Most recently, an Irish Times survey found that 32 of 60 politicians who responded confirmed they had received online threats of physical abuse.  And when we look at female politicians only, the figures are staggering. Research published last week by NUI Galway found that 96% of female politicians in Ireland have received abusive messages online or ‘hate mail’. Almost 40% of female politicians interviewed reported being threatened with sexual violence while 25% said they had been verbally abused in public. This is part of the general ‘dehumanisation’ of politicians, and we should all be worried about it. 

Accountability in politics is a good thing. But it should be achieved by media scrutiny and tougher standards around lobbying and ethics for those serving in public office. And ultimately, there is a responsibility on the wider public to hold politicians to account through the ballot box. It could be argued that some Irish politicians who have behaved questionably ways, have not suffered come election count day. That’s largely on us - the voters. It is of course somewhat a result of our multi-seat method of electing TDs. But that is a bigger discussion for another day.

Hopefully recent events will make politicians think twice about their behaviour in these matters in future. But let’s all take a breath before rushing to judgment when they make mistakes (even huge ones) and think about what long term lessons we can learn for better democratic outcomes. And in the meantime, remember - politicians are people too.