http://news.yahoo.com/monti-forms-italian-government-123451783.html
The new Italian premier has announced "that the non-presence of politicians in the government would help (the government)."
What do you think? Would all governments be better off without politicians?
Perhaps Italy just needs a strenuous regime of diet and exercise -- and maybe Monti is just the guy to do it.
Originally posted by spruce112358Another piece of blather. Government is by definition a political job. The premier is by definition a politican and so are his cabinet. You can tell he is a politician by the way he boasts about not being a politican. Blather! What he and they are not is elected.
http://news.yahoo.com/monti-forms-italian-government-123451783.html
The new Italian premier has announced "that the non-presence of politicians in the government would help (the government)."
What do you think? Would all governments be better off without politicians?
Perhaps Italy just needs a strenuous regime of diet and exercise -- and maybe Monti is just the guy to do it.
Originally posted by finneganYou can tell he is a politician by the way he boasts about not being a politican
Another piece of blather. Government is by definition a political job. The premier is by definition a politican and so are his cabinet. You can tell he is a politician by the way he boasts about not being a politican. Blather! What he and they are not is elected.
Some funny logic here. well, anyway, surely you must understand that the OP, by referring to the new Italian government being without politicians, means simply that it will consist of technocrats as opposed to creatures of the party political machine.
Originally posted by spruce112358I would like to see it done like Jury duty. You get a letter in the mail and get a week off work to do some legislat'in!!
http://news.yahoo.com/monti-forms-italian-government-123451783.html
The new Italian premier has announced "that the non-presence of politicians in the government would help (the government)."
What do you think? Would all governments be better off without politicians?
Perhaps Italy just needs a strenuous regime of diet and exercise -- and maybe Monti is just the guy to do it.
Originally posted by generalissimoWhat's a "Technocrat" when it's at home? Who are they accountable to?
[b]You can tell he is a politician by the way he boasts about not being a politican
Some funny logic here. well, anyway, surely you must understand that the OP, by referring to the new Italian government being without politicians, means simply that it will consist of technocrats as opposed to creatures of the party political machine.[/b]
Politicians are elected not only for status and to hand out favours, but also with responsibilities and if they are not prepared to carry these out they should be ejected from office and fresh elections held.
In English local government (unlike Parliament of course) an elected Council that fails to pass a responsible budget within its resources is held liable for the resulting costs - ie the local politicans making up the Council are personally liable. The most entertaining example was Dame Shirley Porter, one time leader of Westminster Council, who was "surcharged" £35m and skipped the country to Israel to sit on her wealth from Tesco.
My point is that far from an attack on democracy from outside, this represents a failure of democracy internally to Italy. For a country that has produced so many excellent political thinkers this is a sad state of affairs.
Originally posted by finneganWell, Im not necessarily congratulating Italy for its failures or welcoming the relinquishment of conventional democratic mechanisms of accountability in the country- my point was merely that there is salient difference between the current Italian government and the one which preceded it, in the sense that the current one isn't headed by career politicians preoccupied with opinion polls and party political point-scoring or anything of the sort.
What's a "Technocrat" when it's at home? Who are they accountable to?
Politicians are elected not only for status and to hand out favours, but also with responsibilities and if they are not prepared to carry these out they should be ejected from office and fresh elections held.
In English local government (unlike Parliament of course) an elected Cou ...[text shortened]... try that has produced so many excellent political thinkers this is a sad state of affairs.