I’m not sure if this opinion is shared by many, but this election campaign has exhausted us.
The existing toxicity has only been exacerbated. To put it in perspective, it’s like holding an election in a London neighbourhood, a Parisian apartment, or a city block. Just 570,000 voters in total.
There are over three thousand candidates vying for various positions: from MEPs to school board members.
It’s not bad for someone to want to participate in public affairs. What’s bad is when this ambition, this desire, or whatever it is, becomes the core of our existence for so many months. So much energy, money, and sometimes even grey matter is wasted.
Posters, leaflets, advertisements, photoshoots, PR specialists, receptions, paid interviews, tours, door-to-door visits, gatherings, raffles… And 9,000 public servants will work to complete the electoral process, with 3,000 police officers overseeing to maintain order.
As if America is voting to elect a president. The syndrome of small-scale grandeur in all its glory.
Whichever street you walk down, you’ll see some gentleman (occasionally a lady) smiling at you (hopefully, they’ll have left us by Monday). Whatever website you try to open, some candidate will pop up, promising the earth (and hay in case we’re vegan).
For the city, for the community, for the citizen… Works that have been done, works that will be done. Paradise is here. We just need to reach out to the ballot box and we’ll achieve it.
We haven’t seen so many candidates scrambling for so few positions since public service job openings. Only there, the candidates are honest: the goal is professional restoration, not the salvation of the public.
The worst part of all is the direct or covert attacks on opponents. To protect us. For our good.
However, the stakes in this election have less to do with us and more with the future of the parties. Although it’s very likely, apart from the strengthened presence of ELAM, the future will be the same as the present.
There is always some way for parties to analyse the results so they can continue to survive and claim (and obtain) a role.
Nevertheless, we have a duty to choose some, according to our values, our philosophy, our vision for the place.
Even if the method is once again the lesser of two evils.