Are politicians born or made? According to one pollster, the public in most modern societies is fairly evenly divided on the response to this question. There are those who broaden the choice by saying that political leadership may arises in 3 ways: one may be born with the talent for political leadership; one may emerge as a political leader as a result of a crisis or a period of great social change; and one may choose to become a political leader by studying and acquiring political leadership skills.

But, there appears to be general agreement that politicians represent the widest range of disciplines and other criteria than any other occupation in a society.

Strange bedfellows

Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. A 2006 study of about 211,000 present and past politicians in the United States revealed that they represented close t o 20,000 occupations; age groups ranging from 16 years of age to about 100; male and female; all racial groups, though the minorities were under-represented in terms of their incidence in the general population.

In the United States, lawyers were the single largest group (4.8 percent) among the politicians. They were followed by: members of political families (1.8 percent); farmers (0.8 percent); banking and financial executives (0.5 percent); and teachers (0.5 percent).

Whether in the United States or Jamaica, Australia or Japan, all politicians seek investments from the general public by way of gifts or fundraising. And, there is widespread expectation that donors want government favours in return. This perception has led these and other countries to institute or contemplate public funding for campaign finance with allied disclosure components. In this way, it is hoped that avenues of corruption and bribery from outside private interests will be minimized if not eliminated. Grassroots funding from individuals usually is usually not affestd..

The qualities sought in Jamaican politicians

The incidence of lawyers in politics in the United States reflects the Jamaican circumstance proportionately. However, more than being lawyers, Jamaicans want their politicians to have certain cultural qualities, which were identified by a researcher about five years ago. By and large, the Jamaican public wants the Jamaican politician to:

* Have a “good” family name

* Have money or live like it

* Be aligned with the “right” people

* Own a business or have some business interest(s)

* Know how to campaign

* Know patois or at least some key phrases

* Know the latest dance moves on the podium – or learn how to fake them

* Show a humanitarian side. Promote things for poor people

More so than elsewhere, Jamaicans appear to want politicians they can look up to, someone they can believe is more perfect than themselves, while at the same time be their friends. They also expect the politician to focus on creating jobs, contributing to the enhancement of the overall economic activity and to the general welfare.

Politician’s principal loyalty

However, the politician’s principal loyalty is to his or her party. His or her chief preoccupation is to get re-elected. His or her good deeds are really by-products of the pressure and activities to get re-elected. He/she is accountable to the party for this and answerable in the same way that a CEO is to a corporation’s major shareholders.

When it comes to the character requirements that Jamaicans look for in their politicians, Jamaicans look for the same qualities that are sought and admired elsewhere: honesty; integrity; ability to be a team player; care for other’s feelings; and a person you would want to know and work with.

Warren Buffet has an interesting exercise for this, which he calls investing in people. When resumes come across his desk for jobs, he makes the first decision: Do I need to see this person? If the answer is affirmative, he will conduct the meeting as if he were making an investment decision. Would I want to own a 10 percent interest in this candidate long? Would I be inclined to sell short? Or, would I not buy at all? In other words, while it may not be an investment decision for a shares in the individual’s future, we can never escape making a comparable judgment about politicians or others in whom we place our trust.

The costs of establishing and operating the Electoral Commission as well as the eventual cost of funding campaign finance arrangements are, in essence investments in politicians, in the political process and in the general electorate.

Warren Buffet’s approach should remind us that a decision to hire staff or to finance benefits such as campaign finance reform schemes is an investment decisions from which we should expect a return of improved performance.

Gary Peart is the chief executive officer of Mayberry Investments Limited. You can email him at gary.peart@mayberryinv.com