There was a time when it used to be said that this country had too many elections which involved too much trouble and "excessive" expense while encouraging political polarisation. Then the system changed, elections were curtailed or made to coincide with each other. The number of election days decreased substantially. Possibly, we became one of the countries in Europe with least elections.

Political polarisation was not curtailed however, indeed it might have become more keen. For reasons which had nothing to do with how elections were held, the size of the respective political camps changed relative to each other. Where the "frequent" elections of the past with their results used to function as political "thermometers", they were now replaced in this role by public opinion surveys. These began to define how political parties consider their position and so do voters. If that event has been correctly understood, they have even triggered the resignation of a party leader when surveys showed that he was not being liked enough.

One must doubt whether opinion surveys and the importance they have acquired in the development of the political climate in our midst are any better than what we had before. It does seem however as if surveys are serving to undermine the political efforts of party activists.

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THE CIVIL SERVICE

It's not the first time that the civil service has been discussed here but it does need more general attention. Much technical and professional progress has been registered in its management. At all levels, from the very top to its lowest levels, great talent and dedication have continued to produce leadership reforms that contributed new efficiencies and innovation.

However the greatest attenton that the civil service now requires is political - in the sense that its ethos... in the constitutional, corporative, administrative dimensions and in terms of individual and institutional accountability... needs to be widely updated.  The ways by which these dimensions are taken into account  have hardly changed since Independence (at least on paper) even if administrative practice has changed radically in many cases. There is  need for a deep debate about the space that the civil service should be accorded in the governance of the country.

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ON THE ONE HAND, ON THE OTHER...

A frequently ignored advantage that the new leader of a party could benefit from, especially when in Opposition, is to be underestimated. This allows him to introduce changes in the party and to launch political manoeuvres  which the other side will "automatically" consider as less than significant or as ineffective, failing to take measures to counter them in time. Morover, its proponents could slacken and not even realise what is being done discreetly, without much publicity.

On the other hand, the problem for a new leader could be that the fact of being underestimated is not found only among adversaries but also within his own party. To make matters worse, when party activists get to know the judgement of adversaries about him, they might be influenced in the same direction. That risks creating a demoralisation within the party that certainly could lead to an unhealthy situation! At some stage, all cards would need to be laid on the table.