POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION

Daily Post 1382

POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION

That politics and administration would remain independent of each other was the cherished dream of the legends who propelled and finally established democracy in large parts of the world. It also became the most popular form of governance. Further getting into the mechanism, of strict checks and balances, three different wings were neatly delineated, giving very little chance of interdependence or influence. The practice has turned out to be different and the legislature and more so who constitute the legislature and the executive, with highest power in the hands of the political executive, the narrative has been pretty nebulous. The judiciary has remained out of the fray. The operational linkages will certainly remain.

The modern democracy to which the British have contributed in a big way, talks of the bureaucracy as the steel frame. How it has transformed over the years across the globe we have all witnessed. The aggressive nature of electoral politics has slowly changed the very nature of the governance game. The constituents have to be taken care of at whatever cost, whichever may be the country. Numbers matter both in the number of votes polled in your favour and also the number of representatives at you command. That is your political strength and it seamlessly translates into executive strength. The agenda of the party becomes the agenda of the nation or the province.

How is the delineated power to be maintained? The objectivity of the executive and the delivery of governance? Is Human Development Index the core goal? Are the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN, North Star globally? Executive being insulated of Politics is a chimera now. With the political manifesto becoming the main chunk of governance and elected representatives heading and being a part of executive bodies and agencies, the trend towards Political Administration, as we can call it, has become faster. Executive translates into the execution wing of the political party in power. The grand dreams of changing the nation has to be achieved through the executive. Hence, the Political Administration.

This precarious balance was maintained in large parts of the world for decades now. It has become the definition of both democracy and executive. In some countries it has moved further in a different direction, the Chief Executive becomes both the legislative and executive, notwithstanding, a few legislative losses. Not accepting climate change, treating Corona as an administrative exercise, going against the fact finding of your own agencies, allowing whims, fancies and ego play havoc at the expense of constituents themselves. Whatever good happens because of the bureaucratic momentum and some legal and international commitments can only be incidental. Time to revisit the basic tenet of democracy; maximum good to the maximum people.

DEMOCRATIC CITIZENRY SHOULD LEARN HOW TO EXTRACT THE BEST OUT OF THE PREVAILING GOVERNANCE MODELS.

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