The integrity of the Office of the Governor General

Wed, Apr 30th 2014, 11:55 PM

We enjoy a fine democracy. It is imperfect, flawed, often rowdy and rambunctious. It is also in need of improvement, such as the need for modern party and campaign finance legislation and regulations to help stem the outsized influence of money in politics.
Still, our democratic foundations are strong, with successive generations having assimilated the democratic spirit, anchoring and securing it in institutions, laws, traditions and various practices.
The integrity of our democratic institutions somewhat rests on the character of those who lead and run such institutions. Character concerns not only the ethical conduct of public servants, it concerns also the qualities and characteristics an individual brings to office such as experience, intelligence, empathy, temperament and good judgment.
The integrity of an individual helps to determine the long-term integrity of an office, how one's conduct in office leaves that office in good stead, high repute and respect.
Integrity is also defined as "the state of being whole and undivided", with synonyms such as unity, togetherness and solidarity.
The integrity of the Office of the Governor General involves the characteristics and character of the individual holding that office; the ability of that individual to hold and leave the office in high repute, and the ability of that individual to foster a sense of national identity and unity, togetherness and solidarity.
Though our eight Bahamian governors general had different political affiliations, they all generally enjoyed widespread support and performed in a nonpartisan manner.
The "Two Arthurs" - former Governor General Arthur D. Hanna and current Governor General Sir Arthur A. Foulkes - were former partisans of different political affiliations.
Testament
It is a testament of their sense of the Office of the Governor General, of its central role in unifying the country, that they exercised that high office in a nonpartisan manner.
Both men enjoy great affection across the political spectrum. Bahamians generally were proud of them in that office, an office both widely deserved because of their contributions to national life, their sense of Bahamian nationhood, and their ability to articulate a message of unity.
To recommend the appointment of someone as governor general who has been known for excessive partisanship, for a lifetime of seeking to destroy political opponents, and for the creation of division and discord, would do great damage to the office and to the nation - and to the political party that would make such an unwise choice.
The maintenance of the integrity of the office is paramount. The incident in which Sir Clifford Darling had to travel overseas to allow an FNM to read the speech from the throne in 1992 was a mistake of excessive partisanship.
Sir Clifford, widely loved and regarded, was not a PLP governor general. He was our head of state and should have been allowed to carry out his duty. It would have been a moment of political grace.
Thankfully, no governing party has made that mistake again.
The mistake we should not now make is the appointment of any individual who has demonstrated a visceral and often mean-spirited partisanship that is still fresh in the minds of many Bahamians of various political persuasions.
The Office of the Governor General should be one of political grace, a dignity maintained by both those charged with the appointment and those who hold that high office.
This columnist sometimes has a different political viewpoint from a fellow columnist in this journal, but shares the views of the latter in terms of the qualities needed in a governor general as recently described by him in a series of columns.
This is the type of bipartisanship needed to ensure that the highest office of state is considered in a nonpartisan manner.
Prudent
While the prime minister and his government may recommend whom they deem best as governor general, it may be prudent to broadly consider the sense of the people.
The government would be unwise and perhaps reckless to recommend for that high office someone a majority or a considerably high number of Bahamians would deem unsuitable and inappropriate.
The integrity and nature of the Office of the Governor General is such that it is considered in poor taste and bad form in other jurisdictions for someone to excessively lobby for the position. Such unfettered lobbying has been considered a disqualification in various countries.
If an individual engages in continuous politics to land the post of governor general, imagine the politics he or she may engage in if appointed to such a post. This would prove disastrous for the country, doing great damage to the integrity of the office.
Power reveals character, the good and the ill. When an individual assumes an office, a lifetime of patterns come to the fore, made even more manifest and potentially outsized once in office.
With no easy mechanisms to restrain a governor general, a government must be extremely careful who is recommended and rely on the good judgment and restraint of the occupant once in office.
Those who have shown little prudence and restraint prior to coming to office, will likely not do so after being appointed. Their actions in office may be even worse.
One of the reasons that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is so beloved and well-regarded is because she has not been seen as partisan. She is a figure and symbol of unity, having demonstrated prudence and exercised profoundly good judgment over six decades.
She was said to be pained when one of her advisers allegedly leaked a story to the press expressing deep concerns about Dame Margaret Thatcher when she was prime minister.
Imperious
While the head of state has a duty to advise, encourage or warn the prime minister in certain circumstances, the governor general must not interfere in the workings of government or act in ways that are imperious and haughty, calling the government to task in a highhanded manner.
The governor general, like the monarch, must not only be nonpartisan; the Queen's representative must also be seen to be nonpartisan. This is critical to the functioning of our democracy.
If a governor general is perceived as highly partisan it may create a political crisis, if not potentially a constitutional one, with the head of state potentially losing the confidence of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition as well as the general support of the Bahamian people.
This is not a position in which any Bahamian government would want to find itself. Nor would the governor general want to be embroiled in controversy as was the case famously in Australia some decades ago.
No government would wish to have the office brought into disrepute, alarming both the opposition and Buckingham Palace. There should be no risky choices in the recommendation of a governor general.
Recall that the head of state is privy to official secrets and Cabinet conclusions. The maintenance of confidentiality and restraint is critical to the office.
An appointment as governor general is a privilege. It is not due to any individual. It is more than a ceremonial post, hosting dinners, tea parties and receptions.
It is a constitutional post requiring an occupant who possesses the acumen, the good judgment and restraint, and the spirit of national solidarity and non-partisanship that would help to promote national unity.
Without these qualities the integrity of the Office of the Governor General may be seriously compromised.
o frontporchguardian@gmail.com, www.bahamapundit.com.

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