Jeff Harder--Canoe--Jan. 22, 2001
TORONTO - Canadian politicians like to complain about the "invisible tattoo." They believe elected office leaves them with an indelible brand, which renders them social and professional outcasts once they return to private life.
Quietly, they whisper the name of Hans Daigeler, the former Liberal MPP who hung himself six months after being defeated in the 1995 provincial election. He was reportedly distraught over his inability to find meaningful employment.
Daigeler isn't the only man to be rejected by the private sector after years of intense public service, complain the politicians, sitting and retired.
But a comprehensive survey, sponsored by the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, disproves the entire theory around this so-called invisible tattoo. The questionnaire was mailed to more than 800 former MPs and senators.
The poll, which took more than a year to complete, backfired like a rusty old handgun. Wilfred Laurier political science professor David Docherty found that the overwhelming majority of respondents made smooth transitions.
"For many individuals, the transition from one career to another can be a time of great stress and anxiety," wrote Docherty.
"This is no less true for members of parliament than it is for other professionals, those in the business sector, and public servants. We should not expect former parliamentarians to be immune from the problems faced with beginning a new career, or returning to a previous career after a substantial break."
This preamble, as it turns out, is irrelevant to the findings.
"By and large, however, most respondents (83%) indicated that the transition "from elected life to a career after politics" was either somewhat or very successful," Docherty concluded.
Wow. Eighty-three per cent were successful. This is an astounding statistic. If universities could boast 83 per cent placement rates for their graduates, they'd be buying billboards and TV ads to promote themselves as centres of excellence.
And so, a miserable 17 per cent of former parliamentarians were unhappy with the transition. This doesn't mean they're unemployed or engaged in demeaning work. It just means they fell below expectations.
Surely, in any random sample of society, 17 per cent aren't entirely happy with their current status.
And, just because somebody got elected doesn't mean he/she should be an instant success outiside politics. There are losers and under-achievers in every sector.
Besides coming up empty on the professional aspects of life after politics, the survey bombed out on the hypothesis that political marriages are more likely to fail. Again, this was based on the constant whining, not empirical data.
Finally, there is documented proof that voters can stop listening to representatives who moan about family sacrifice.
"Sixteen per cent of respondents blamed the stress of elected life for the eventual break up of their marriage," Docherty found. "While this is significantly lower than the national average, the question asked about divorces that could be specifically tied to the member's career."
Furthermore, the family impacts appear to be no different for a politician than they do for any other working executive, police officer or health care professional.
"When asked the impact of elected life on family life, a full seventy-six per cent of members indicated it was at least "somewhat stressful" ( 32% indicated "very stressful and 44% "somewhat stressful"). Among the most popular causes of this form of stress was time spent away from family (either in the nation's capital or in the constituency), long hours of work, and missing family activities," the professor said.
Anyone who holds down a job misses some family activities. Anyone with a health condition misses some family activities.
The survey, however, was illuminating because it showed that politicians are just like the rest of the working population. Some of them succeed. Some of them fail. And in between all of those daily challenges of life, they'd like to spend more time with their families.
Well, who doesn't? |
