Post-election clarity?
why I'll always vote for a mommy ubermesnch who does nothing
I wrote this piece about a week before the election, when twitter was abuzz with chatter about it.
I don’t know when I ever cared about politics— last time I voted was at council election for the City of Sydney. I voted for the incumbent (Clover Moore), an almost 80 yr old woman with a natural sprezzatura for giving speeches and wearing oversized gold jewellery, and looked like she absolutely enjoyed herself while doing it. Things have been going okay in the city of Sydney for the last 6 or so years I’ve lived there, she’s been the mayor for 2 decades so she must be doing something right.
It’s true, she may not do much but I’d rather vote for a politician who knows how not to meddle rather than one who likes to meddle in everything – rent control, climate change, overseas disputes,1 etc. She may have ordered the planting of 10,000 trees (very Singaporean!) and annoyed people with bicycle lanes haphazardly plastered all over the place. But those are small misdeeds compared to the outsized blunders by other politicians.
My housemate didn’t vote for her, pointing out that she earns $250k p.a. and doesn’t even do anything. Exactly, I silently answered her back. In the milieu of local government, doing nothing is sometimes a sign of high intelligence, of adding value. Castiglione is thought to have said that “excessive diligence is harmful”. He would’ve liked Clover Moore’s laissez-faire approach. You can’t trust politicians to do anything right, so best not to let them do much in the first place.
My housemate supported an independent who said that he would help “get rid of the rats” (sydney city has a rat problem). That’s very cute, but how’s he going to do that? Politicians promise things all the time, then forget about it like they’re suffering from dementia. Maybe politicians are good people, they just have memory issues like goldfish (big promises & tiny brains). We should elect politicians who don’t promise anything…
I just want my streets to be kept clean, trash cans collected promptly, plants and shrubs in front of my house pruned, streetlights to be kept on at night,, it’s not that complicated. I quite like that the council housing in my area is integrated into the prettier neighbourhoods. And overall, it’s a good neighbourhood— multicultural, with a good mix of socio-economic groups. My neighbour works a cushy job in tech, head of policy at a digital platform that you probably use, and earns more than the Mayor. There are also liberal arts students, weed-smokers, retired couples, young families— yes it’s one of the most godless and progressive enclaves in Australia, but it’s mixed, and it’s pleasant. Clover knows not to mess with it.
A friend voted for a politician because he promised to uncap public sector wage rises. And guess what, she got promoted, but so did everyone else in her team, and the department probably, and now we have inflation. It all evens out in the end, don’t listen to politicians. This is precisely the kind of deal you’d get with the devil. Sure he’d increase your wages, but then he’d make inflation increase by exactly the same, offsetting all the gains. I’d rather vote for the mommy übermensch in her quasi-monarchy of Sydney than a meddling politician with too much time on his hands.
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A few days before the election me and my boyfriend looked over San Francisco’s ballot measures. There was a ballot on closing a portion of a highway and converting it into an oceanside park. We both agreed, he should vote “yes” on that. We passed there on our first date on our way to Land’s End, and it gave us good memories. There was a ballot on improving school bathrooms and facilities, and another one on being tougher on crime. All seemed reasonable.
I saw a tweet about how ballot measures (“direct democracy”) don’t follow strict party lines, which made me think that the two-party system is a bit schizo, in that it’s all just vibes and makes people sad, anxious and poloraised all the time, which surely can’t be good for them.
We don’t have ballot measures in Australia,, which is a waste,, we are a highly pragmatic people after all. Politicians should do things only if it’s wanted and if it’s good for the people, otherwise they should just do nothing.
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After the election I tweeted,
People may be more conservative on a national scale but progressive when it comes to their own neighbourhood. Depends how far you zoom in
The converse is also true of course,, it depends on the hood. I don’t think it’s right to characterise an entire country’s personality as left wing or right right wing based on who they elect as their leader. Countries are a patchwork of states, suburbs and neighbourhoods. Your day-to-day reality is determined by your immediate surrounds,, the supermarket you go to, your commute to work, your boss, your team, the friends and lovers you have, etc. Your REAL LIFE.
Sometimes I even forget who the Prime Minister of Australia is. Then I remember that I only paid $30 for my electricity bill last quarter because of a government rebate, and then I suddenly remember him. Did my life noticeably change because of him? No. I just don’t want him to mess things up, and would be very happy if he stopped trying to change things all the time.
don’t know how local council members are able to intervene in foreign disputes, completely delusional
I wish everyone was as wise and reasonable as you!