Trust in politicians in the UK appears to be at an all time low. The
expenses scandal seems to have obliterated any remaining confidence
that the public had in our political leadership. But those interested
in the survival of ethical politics should take heart. Whilst turning
things around will not be easy, India offers a cautiously optimistic
tale of how things can go from very bad to at least a little better.
Now the problems that Indian politics faces should not be
underestimated. Three examples should suffice. First, criminality and
politics are heavily intertwined. In fact, more than 20 per cent of the
members of the last parliament (for whom records were available) had
criminal convictions, and an even greater proportion stood accused of a
crime. And these are no petty offenses. Charges include murder, rape
and banditry, and a member of parliament (since sacked) was even found
to have used his official business trips abroad to run a human
trafficking operation. Parties continue to let criminals stand as MPs
because they have the influence and financial resources to win seats –
but the effects on the reputation of the parties, and politics, is
horrendous.
Second is corruption. In a recent poll more than four fifths of
respondents said they thought that the majority of Indian politicians
are corrupt, and almost two thirds said they believed that making money
is politicians’ primary motivation. These beliefs are stoked by cases
such as the recent imprisonment of a former communications minister who
amassed more than half a million pounds through corruption during his
years in office. In the face of such cases, the idea that politics is
about serving the nation seems a cruel joke.
Third is the extent to which politicians put power above ideology and
integrity; demonstrated by the frequency with which parties change
alliance partners (almost daily during the electoral period), and
politicians change parties. Taking one example, one party (the BSP) put
forward around 80 candidates for the recent election. Around 25 per
cent of those candidates had only joined the party in the previous two
months and another half had switched over to it when it did well in
2007 regional elections.
So where is even a hint of optimism in this tale? It is in the recent
electoral campaign and results. In a number of respects Congress
offered a more positive politics than Indian voters are used to, and
appear to have been rewarded for it at the ballot box.
First is the leadership of the Congress’s prime ministerial candidate
Manmohan Singh. Singh has a reputation as a careful thinker, a skillful
manager of the economy and a man of integrity, untainted by corruption;
but he also lacks charisma, and Congress have been advised to dump him
as a result. They chose instead to stand by him, and appear to have
been rewarded for it electorally. This should bode well for the future
selection of candidates.
More crucial, however, is the role played by Rahul Gandhi, a member of
the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty. Whilst there must be doubts about
his ability to revolutionise Indian politics (as his family have been
central to making Indian politics what it is today), he has made a
number of important positive decisions.
First, he refused to kow-tow to seemingly powerful allies. Whilst
alliances are obligatory to win Indian elections, where allies were too
demanding Rahul steered Congress toward going it alone. He stood by the
strength of their own candidates, policies and campaign message. This
was widely criticised at the time, but the approach has been rewarded
at the ballot box, with Congress winning many seats fought against
erstwhile allies. This has struck a blow against the most mercenary
kinds of alliance politics.
Also important, however, appears to have been Rahul’s focus on bottom
up politics. After entering parliament in 2004 he eschewed prominent
speeches or manoeuvring for a ministerial position, concentrating
instead on his constituency. Similarly, in his work for the party he
has focused on consolidating the grassroots and engaging young voters.
He was widely scorned for this approach but it has helped him build a
reputation as having an interest in the everyday voter, which in turn
seems to have paid off at the polls.
So, whilst Congress’s good performance is undoubtedly the result of
many factors, it has helped that some key figures have stood for
anti-corruption, a clear political vision and a focus on the everyday
citizen, and accepted the criticism which came with those stances. This
takes leadership, and voters who reward that leadership. Those looking
to resuscitate ethical politics in the UK, take note.