What is political will? How does one possess it? How is it put into action? Can it be measured?
These are some of the questions which spring in our head when we hear of political will and very often they are left unanswered, as no one wants to answer them!
To politicians and advocates, political will is the holy grail of the political arena. However, political will in simple terms refers to the combination of an opinion, plus intensity, plus salience. For political will to have any relevance, it must be related to public affairs.
POLITICAL WILL = OPINION + INTENSITY + SALIENCE
Opinion begins with the simple fact of having one. Most people have their opinion of how this Country must be run, however there are lots of important people and issues on which most people may have no opinion. Opinion is also shaped by how issues are framed.
Intensity is the second factor in political will. On many issues, people have opinions, but the are not strongly held. Manchester United or Liverpool? Toyota or Nissan? Do you really care that much? On others, people feel strongly such as recruitment policy in the public sector/civil service or to do something about global warming? If there's not much intensity there is no political will.
Yet strong opinions form political will only if they are salient to public choice. There is no political will if they have no connection to public affairs.
Then if political will is the combination of the above features, how do we measure it? The answers is simple through polls.
Our Constitution which is the Supreme Law of the Land makes provision for referendum to decide on major proposals and has since 1967-1968, been left unused. The last proposal decided by referendum was the independence of Mauritius from Great Britain.
Under our Constitution the referendum is binding but unfortunately it has not been put to fruitful use in recent times. The founders of our Constitution entrenched this provision so that the people of Mauritius could participate in the running of the Country in a democratic manner and prevent the reign of Despotism and injustice.
We often hear that, in Mauritius, youngsters are disgusted with politics and they prefer to distance themselves from it. The real reason why it is so lies in the manner in which politics is conducted and the government is run. Politicians (Ministers) curb in front of pressure from their followers and we end up with political nominations in all branches of the government which compromises the whole system. We ultimately end up with all sorts of scandals, frauds, etc.. at the end of the day!
Recent events have once more brought this question to the forefront:
Do our Politicians have the necessary political will to cope with the one-a-many issues affecting our Country's stability as a democracy? Does everyone get a fair chance and equal opportunities or are we lapsing in what we refer to as a "banana republic" (No offense to the Trademark "Banana Republic") where each and everyone is looking for his/her own baser motives? Where is the political will to bring change? Please express it!
"Fear The Ones With Nothing To Lose"
Next: The Referendum: Power of the People by the People!
These are some of the questions which spring in our head when we hear of political will and very often they are left unanswered, as no one wants to answer them!
To politicians and advocates, political will is the holy grail of the political arena. However, political will in simple terms refers to the combination of an opinion, plus intensity, plus salience. For political will to have any relevance, it must be related to public affairs.
POLITICAL WILL = OPINION + INTENSITY + SALIENCE
Opinion begins with the simple fact of having one. Most people have their opinion of how this Country must be run, however there are lots of important people and issues on which most people may have no opinion. Opinion is also shaped by how issues are framed.
Intensity is the second factor in political will. On many issues, people have opinions, but the are not strongly held. Manchester United or Liverpool? Toyota or Nissan? Do you really care that much? On others, people feel strongly such as recruitment policy in the public sector/civil service or to do something about global warming? If there's not much intensity there is no political will.
Yet strong opinions form political will only if they are salient to public choice. There is no political will if they have no connection to public affairs.
Then if political will is the combination of the above features, how do we measure it? The answers is simple through polls.
Our Constitution which is the Supreme Law of the Land makes provision for referendum to decide on major proposals and has since 1967-1968, been left unused. The last proposal decided by referendum was the independence of Mauritius from Great Britain.
A referendum (also known as a plebiscite or a ballot question) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of direct democracy.
Under our Constitution the referendum is binding but unfortunately it has not been put to fruitful use in recent times. The founders of our Constitution entrenched this provision so that the people of Mauritius could participate in the running of the Country in a democratic manner and prevent the reign of Despotism and injustice.
We often hear that, in Mauritius, youngsters are disgusted with politics and they prefer to distance themselves from it. The real reason why it is so lies in the manner in which politics is conducted and the government is run. Politicians (Ministers) curb in front of pressure from their followers and we end up with political nominations in all branches of the government which compromises the whole system. We ultimately end up with all sorts of scandals, frauds, etc.. at the end of the day!
Recent events have once more brought this question to the forefront:
Do our Politicians have the necessary political will to cope with the one-a-many issues affecting our Country's stability as a democracy? Does everyone get a fair chance and equal opportunities or are we lapsing in what we refer to as a "banana republic" (No offense to the Trademark "Banana Republic") where each and everyone is looking for his/her own baser motives? Where is the political will to bring change? Please express it!
"Fear The Ones With Nothing To Lose"
Next: The Referendum: Power of the People by the People!
