Politics of Celebrity

With general elections just six months away, it’s easy to once again lay the blame on voters for the quality of leaders we elect to office. We disagree with this view. Quality emanates at the start of the process and that process begins with the political parties and their selection and nomination process. It is the political parties which bear the responsibility for giving voters good choices from which to pick their elected leaders come election day. Good choices make for good leaders and bad choices make for bad ones. It’s as simple as that.

Unfortunately, the Philippine political system is so out of sync with business practice and the realities of the global economy and competition that political parties continuously shortchange the country. In modern business, leaders are selected on the basis of competence, qualities, skills, and track records. This principle is evident not only in business but also in the recruitment of leaders and managers in the modern non-government organizations. The principle is also practiced at many levels of an organization, where even entry-level employees are subjected to tests and interviews and checked thoroughly before they are hired. The reality is that the countries surging ahead of us are increasingly run in a businesslike-manner and are based on meritocracies.

Contrast this with the way our political parties select their nominees for public office. Forget competence and qualities. It’s all about popularity and winnability. Politics, Philippine-style, has become the saddest beauty contest of Asia. This politics of celebrity will handicap the country for years to come. It already has hurt us in the past.

The most commonly-foisted argument is it doesn’t matter whom we elect. Just surround the newly-elected with good, competent people. I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Remember the Estrada Administration ? The early battlecry in his defense is that he had put together a council of advisors composed of 50 people. And, to his credit, he assembled a strong Cabinet. Finally, he organized a five-man senior advisory council to provide counsel. All for naught as unofficial advisors, the midnight cabinet, political hangers-on, and imaginary leaders pulled strings from behind the scenes. Should the presence of these same hangers-on and has-beens be a cause of concern? In a word, yes.

It’s time to put a stop to this politics of celebrity. If there’s anything wrong with our leaders, don’t blame the voters. Blame the ones who brought this problem on – the politicians and the political parties.

The publisher