All people possess egotistical desires. Politicians — even novices — have a more highly developed sense of self than the average person. When people in power lack ability, yet possess strong egos, they will be doomed to failure. On the other hand, if they possess both ability and an overinflated ego, at best it is a regrettable flaw; at worst, it can spell disaster.
When the person in power is a politician with a large ego but scant ability, and muddles along until they are ultimately spurned by the public, important members of the Cabinet, who are also guided by their own egos, jump ship one after the other to save their reputations.
Now that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is at a loss about what to do, religious leaders are telling him that he must win back the hearts of the electorate. However, in doing so, they are telling him to take what amounts to a sedative by asking him to work toward what would be an unpopular meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Seeing that the ship is sinking and being fearful of being dragged down with it, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators still have not repented and cast their votes according to the wishes of the electorate to conscientiously enact laws to reform the nation’s democracy
Instead, they have reverted to type, and — purely for reasons of self-preservation — are trying to force the government to be dissolved and call an early election in an attempt to save their own skin.
Maverick Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), a political novice, has been acting in the interests of the citizens he represents. He has been strictly impartial, not shying away from facing up to privileged corporations, and in doing so has been winning rounds of applause from the public.
Still, he also finds it difficult to shake off his egotistical side. An example of which would be writing long-winded memos on which the testy phrase “don’t make me angry” is scrawled, causing bureaucrats to leak the memo in order to create an embarrassing situation for their boss.
Forgetting “me” is not easy, but democratic politics is about holding the public’s interest foremost in mind. Civil servants should therefore strive to dispense with their egos, since their getting angry is beside the point — public anger is what matters.
Ko is incensed at the city’s previous administration for wasting taxpayers’ hard-earned money; all for the convenience of several privileged corporations. The revelations have caused public outrage, and the mayor has projected this anger through himself, while expressing indignation over the injustice and unfairness that is destroying the public’s rights and interests to a chorus of “bravos” from Taipei’s citizens.
There are many ways to express anger: Through facial expressions or through language; a face-to-face rebuke or conveyed through another person; and even writing an official rebuttal or demanding a written apology. However, writing “don’t make me angry” to a subordinate on a piece of paper is a wholly unnecessary venting of emotion.
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), commenting on Ko’s inauguration, acclaimed the addition of an outsider to the political fold, while repeatedly calling on Ko to remain humble, patient and to keep a cool head. In other words, to keep his ego in check and pursue public interest at all times.
Political capital is a finite entity; to waste it over trifling matters would only serve to limit Ko’s ability to push through his reform program in the future.
James Wang is a media commentator.
Translated by Edward Jones
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