Is Efficient the New Sexy?

This past week was as wild as it was sad.  A foreign affairs minister, plagued by numerous gaffes over the past few months, ultimately committed the unforgiveable sin of leaving classified documents in an insecure location.  It was a major indiscretion and his tenure as Canada’s chief foreign representative is over.

I refused to take part in the ultimate bloodletting, in part because there was an element of the tragic in it and it’s difficult to watch such a leader descend in such rapid fashion.  My lack of participation did afford me the opportunity, however, of watching the drama unfold in real-time.  And it got me to thinking how mercurial things often are around this place.

It was a year ago that the media seemed to be enamored by the kind of celebrity culture emanating from the present government.  So and so was the “best dressed,” while another was the "most eligible" (the above-mentioned minister).  Starved for effective policy discussions, everyone seemed to take to the sheer banality of the place by occupying roles that could easily have fit into a Sex In The City episode.  This went on for months, and over a long and bleak winter season it provided something of a distraction. Other than the very serious debate on Afghanistan, it often appeared as a kind of sitcom about nothing really, like that other show, Seinfeld.

Those days landed with a sudden thud this week, as it became apparent once again that politics is after all a serious business and distraction can often lead to serious neglect or even a security risk – for politicians as well as the media.  The months of constantly heckling, of bullying and needless rancor, while somewhat entertaining at first, have assisted many of us in coming to the conclusion that the real serious work – the parallel parliament – suffered as a result of our neglect.

We’re now starting to hear about “serious” members being considering for cabinet, or “quiet and efficient” politicians as candidates for something higher.  David Emerson, the interim foreign affairs minister, is lauded as “sensible, no-nonsense, efficient" (there’s that word again) and "capable.”

Maybe the days of the fancy suits, low-cut dresses and staged photo-ops have reminded us that we failed to keep our eye on the ball.  Efficient is the new “sexy,” and maybe over the next few months it will lead us back to good governance.