BELTRAN SETS STANDARDS AT CPA CONFERENCE
By The Hon Mr. Clive Beltran and
J. Brock (SARTMA)
“How to Restore Trust Between the Public Administration and Politicians, and How to Convince the Public that Good Public Services in a Community Are a Result of Good Government,” was the final topic in the regional CPA Conference held in the Falklands from16 to 20 February 2004. The Hon. Clive Beltrin, a delegate from Gibraltar, set the standard for politicians when he made his contribution to that final discussion. His speech was very well received by delegates at the Conference.
Due to the fact that contributions by the Opposition were not made on the same day as that of the Government, these two articles could not be submitted at the same time.
The Hon Mr. Beltran said:
“Whilst realising the difficulties inherent in such a complex question, Mr Beltran highlighted the importance of two fundamental principles that, in his view, are necessary for politicians to observe if they are going to convince the public that they deserve their trust, whether it be in local, national or international affairs. Firstly, politicians are to be ‘honest.’ In political terms and at the risk of sounding naïve, to some, the public have to be able to rely on politicians to mean what they say and to actually carry out what they promise that they are going to do. However, if whatever reason they are unable to deliver, politicians must give truthfully and unambiguously why this is the case. In other words, for politicians to be trusted, it is vital for them to engage the public with respect at all times. For when politicians change their tone or make feeble attempts at trying to defend the indefensible, people see through their smoke-screens, they feel their intelligence is being insulted and the result is a loss of trust in the politicians.
For example, when the Foreign Office sent Peter Hain and later Jack Straw to tell the people of Gibraltar to their face that joint sovereignty with Spain would result in economic prosperity and enjoyment of all E. U. rights, the Gibraltarians felt insulted, embittered and betrayed. You see, Gibraltarians are well aware of the level of economic prosperity that we enjoy without there being a need for a deal with Spain. Gibraltarians know very well the E. U. rights we enjoy and those that are ours by right but are curtailed or interfered with by Spain, whilst the British Government make tame, half hearted and predictably unsuccessful attempts at having them restored. It is this kind of dishonest, political attempt to sell people what people know to be untrue that makes the public not trust politicians.
The second principle that must guide our work as politicians in order to enjoy the public’s trust is that of ‘dedication to service.’ Some politicians, once elected, lose sight of a simple, fundamental truth and that is that the electorate have put them in Parliament so that they look after their needs and interests. It is clearly through a sense of duty, top electors at all times and through straight forward, honest, hard work that policies become reality. Good public services can only be the result of dedication and sustained effort, consultation with stakeholders, good planning and a commitment to actually get things done. There is no magic formula.
Whether it be a case of restoring trust that has been lost or continue to enjoy the public’s trust, visible, tangible, ‘honesty’ and a sense of ‘dedication to service’ are the sine qua non. Politicians will ignore them at their peril.
The Photo shows from Left to right, Mr. Paul Martinez, Secretary for the Gibraltar Delegation, The Hon. Clive Beltran, Government delegate and the Hon Steven Linares, Opposition delegate.
