WHO IS A GOOD POLITICIAN?

[Yoweri Museveni]

WHO IS A GOOD POLITICIAN?

Dr A.M Obote, President of Republic of Uganda in his address to Parliament’s first meeting, fourth session, Wednesday, 28th March 1984. The assembly met at 2.30 p.m. in Parliament house, Kampala.

“Mr. Speaker, Sir, this young House of politicians has gained considerable experience and has performed fairly well, and Members are climbing on the ladder of political leadership. I would think that individual Members by now know the truism of the first rule of political leadership, which states that one has to be a good politician in order to get a chance to be a statesman. The emphasis is on ‘good politician’. Every politician aspires to be a statesman. The road is not an easy one. Mr. Speaker, a good politician has many attributes:-
• A good politician is one who knows that power lies with the people.
• A good politician is one who knows that power does not lie in Government or Parliament, but with the people.
• A good politician is one who knows that Government and Parliament exercise powers entrusted to them by the people and that the same power must be exercised solely in the interests of the people.
• A good politician is one who respects the will of the people.
• A good politician is one who knows that at an election the electorate has the power either to confirm the current representative or transfer their trust to another representative.
• A good politician is one who works relentlessly for peace, prosperity and goodwill and, as the distinguished American Statesman, Abraham Lincoln once said, works on the principle of “…..Malice towards none and charity to all……”
• A good politician is one who knows that the interest of his country is paramount and all others are secondary.
• A good politician is one who knows that party differences are secondary to national unity and security. (Hear, hear.)’’