The Transition to Great Expectations

Up to the new leaders to decide whether they want to be the tree or the shadow

By Dr R Neerunjun Gopee

Character is a tree, reputation its shadow; most people go after the shadow, whereas it is the tree which is more important. – Anon

2025 is truly a year of transition for the country. The crushing 60/0 victory of Labour Party-led alliance was not only a repetition of similar wins in 1982 and 1995 but ushered in a much-needed fresh air of freedom to sweep away the suffocating atmosphere of fear and repression that had been the hallmarks of the outgoing regime. At the same time, though, the upbeat mood has given rise to both much hope for a better tomorrow and to great expectations that the pledges and promises made will be fulfilled, along with the clearing of the Augean stables.

While a beginning has been made as regards the latter with warrants of arrests issued and one executed to date, for the common man it’s essentially improvements in the day-to-day conditions of living that count more. These include, for example and among others, easing of the cost of the food basket, 24/7 water and power supply, prompt and courteous service in both the private and the public sectors.

These are some of the simple basics that can prevent the exodus of our fellow citizens who are sorely needed to stop the decline of our demographic. It is a fact that thousands of Mauritians live abroad, out of choice or necessity. In bigger countries there are no doubt more and better opportunities for jobs and higher earnings than is possible here. The money factor is likely to be the major driver in most cases, but for other categories professional satisfaction is equally important. It is also true that Mauritians miss the social life here that they cannot enjoy elsewhere, and this is an important consideration for the new government to take note of. How can they make the island more attractive to lure back its nationals?

However, the many who have not left our shores and prefer to live in their vaunted ‘paradise’ island’ – again out of choice or necessity (family reasons, no means to go abroad, etc.) – adapt and adjust accordingly. This is not necessarily easy, especially with the pressures and the pace of modern life in the increasingly difficult environment where daily activities are carried out.

The daily experience of living in the island is perhaps no better or worse than obtains elsewhere, as people in all countries face broadly similar issues such as: road congestion in commuting to work, varying levels of job satisfaction, discrimination at the workplace, issues of promotion, schooling of children and care of the younger ones while both parents are at work, responsibility for the elderly, and so on and so forth. Work from home that started during the Covid epidemic has not proved to be a panacea.

In general, it may be said that in their day-to-day life people are not conscious of how the broader political, social and economic forces at play impact on their lives. And yet these do, perhaps in a more fundamental way than the people themselves realize, because many of the decisions that affect them arise out of a complex interplay among these very forces. A recent example is the implementation of the 14th month that had been guaranteed pre-electorally, and that faced the hard reality of the actual state of the country’s finances.

That is why from time to time it is salutary to step back as it were and take a ‘panoramic’ view of one’s country, so as to have a more realistic perspective of the direction in which it is going and use this input to then make course corrections wherever these are indicated. In that respect, findings of surveys that are made public from time to time as well as the inputs aired on a more regular basis in the media should goad us into taking actions and measures which must be at all levels and in all spheres of national life if we are concerned about the future and image of our country.

A critical issue much aired during the fading years of the last regime was the ‘trust deficit’ between the citizenry and those who govern. In fact, it has emerged as a critical factor even in the established major democracies. This has to be addressed as a matter of urgency. In fact, it should be a wake-up call for all institutions which have not lived up to the integrity standards expected of them to bell the cat by doing all within their power to restore that lost trust so that the country can move forward confidently.

The central message that emerges is that, starting with the political class, all institutions have to put their act together and do their own mea culpa, and reflect on how to become more trustworthy, transparent, unafraid of accountability, and efficient. A stronger streak of patriotism should be cultivated so that we can make of our country one to be truly proud of, for the sake of the future generations for whom opportunities elsewhere are set to diminish given the rising nationalisms globally.

It is not sufficient that in our choice of people to occupy positions of great responsibility we focus solely on their physical attributes, their looks, their competence, their qualifications, their intelligence because, in any case, all of them will possess these to some degree. Nor must purely political or politically correct considerations be the determining factors. What, on the contrary, must be of overriding significance is what we call the character of the potential aspirants. It is made up of qualities that are expansive rather than limited to the attributes of the body and the mind-intellect. What constitutes character includes among others: attitude, humaneness, goodness, humility, a sense of fair play and justice, absence of prejudices, objectivity, rationality and reasonableness, a sense of morality.

It is essentially the character of a person which frames his conduct, and that is why the single most important quality that we look for and admire in a person is the character, and by extension the single most important attribute that we respect in a person is his sense of morality and ethics. And because with great power comes great responsibility, we as a people must demand that, everything else being equal, the unique marker of holders of high office should be their ethical conduct. Period.

That was what had endeared President Eisenhower to his people, as a tribute to him after his death in 1969 by President Nixon pointed out. People found themselves ‘thinking first, not of his deeds, but of his character. It was not what he did, but what he was that so captured the trust and faith and affection of his own people.’

Leaders are elected to do deeds anyway, so there’s nothing great about that. What makes them unique is the spirit in which they conduct themselves as they go about performing their actions, and that is what eventually elevates them – or brings their disrepute and downfall.

Truly is it said that ‘character is a tree, reputation its shadow; most people go after the shadow, whereas it is the tree which is more important.’

Up to the new leaders to decide whether they want to be the tree or the shadow.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 10 January 2025