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Later Life Talkback - 62

May 2005

Helen FranksTalkback is a regular feature in laterlife.com run by journalist and author Helen Franks. 

Welcome to talkback 62

Read Helen's views and ideas, then add your own by emailing her on helen@laterlife.com. Whatever your opinion on the subject under discussion, Helen wants to hear it.

If you would like to suggest future topics for talkback, please email Helen with the details. And remember you can also start your own forum discussion thread by visiting the laterlife cafe


 
Do we get the politicians we deserve?

By the time you read this, the election may be over and a new government installed. In the run-up there was a new focus - on what the media referred to as the 'grey vote'. That means us, anyone over-50, with special emphasis on another media expression - 'pensioners'. (Does anyone ever describe themselves in these terms?)

We won't know for some time whether we will be listened to, but one newspaper headline described a plan 'to put pensioners in control as intelligent adults', which is a good start.

Surveys before the election showed that we in the fifty-plus age group are politically aware and get ourselves to the polling stations, so it's no wonder that politicians wanted to woo us. The political parties know that we are highly interested in pensions, retirement, taxes and the NHS, and they address these issues with our age group in mind.

But poll after poll show that we do not trust politicians. Some of us think they tell outright lies, others that they fudge the truth. We lose patience with them when they indulge in scoring points off each other. Just like petty squabbling among small children, we think.

Do we get the politicians we deserve? Yes and no (sorry, that sounds just like a politician evading the question). But politicians are like the rest of us. They tend to boast when they are winning, hurl insults when they get cornered, go into sulks when they are defeated, sometimes more loudly than others. And like the rest of us, they do have ideals and sometimes strongly-held opinions. That's mainly why they went into politics in the first place.

They also want power and glory, and they have to work very hard for both. If you and I don't want the job, we have to tolerate those who do, and try not to sneer too much at such egocentric ambitions. But it would be very very reassuring to witness a politician who doesn't just 'do sincere' but is the real thing, and please could they give up those smug smiles of triumph. And could they also say what they mean and mean what they say, at lease 80 per cent of they time. It's not asking a lot.

How do you rate politicians, and what do you hate about them? Email me at helen@laterlife.com



Tell me what you think. Email helen@laterlife.com 

 

 

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 Don`t forget to take a look at Helen`s healthwise column too          

     Amazon Book - Growing older is so much fun everybody's doing it      Amazon book - The Bread Machine Cookbook      The Great Food Gamble

        
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