Dr Tan – someone with a private sector background, savvy in shaping opinion and moving crowds and now, in the hot seat with the ongoing global economic crisis – would be the model for alternative leaders the party will have to do more to nurture over time.
More work is needed for the younger leaders already in government office to gain the confidence of party cadres.
The party is not the government. But if the government must make difficult policy decisions during challenging times, it needs to engage the ground more actively and the party faithful and grassroots work is one important channel to do so. Building faith in policy requires rich engagement by the party, with cadre fully motivated to support that.
The current conditions of governance will require more imagination from the party to create the platforms that allow 27 first-time PAP MPs and future political candidates to foster that crucial human interface between politics and policy; and from cadre to leaders.
Singaporeans need to be confident that the PAP continues to have a good feel for their daily struggles in this changing world. Quality political dialogue will allow leaders, especially if they are younger, newer and seem to come from the same mould, to earn the right to be heard by their constituents.
Party-based work allows for this melding of heart with head on an ongoing basis. Politics, as the art of making the impossible possible, happens at that retail level, and all political parties neglect that at their peril.
Gillian Koh is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore.
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MORE WORK NEED TO WIN OVER POLITICAL CADRES
More work is needed for the younger leaders already in government office to gain the confidence of party cadres.
The party is not the government. But if the government must make difficult policy decisions during challenging times, it needs to engage the ground more actively and the party faithful and grassroots work is one important channel to do so. Building faith in policy requires rich engagement by the party, with cadre fully motivated to support that.
The current conditions of governance will require more imagination from the party to create the platforms that allow 27 first-time PAP MPs and future political candidates to foster that crucial human interface between politics and policy; and from cadre to leaders.
Singaporeans need to be confident that the PAP continues to have a good feel for their daily struggles in this changing world. Quality political dialogue will allow leaders, especially if they are younger, newer and seem to come from the same mould, to earn the right to be heard by their constituents.
Party-based work allows for this melding of heart with head on an ongoing basis. Politics, as the art of making the impossible possible, happens at that retail level, and all political parties neglect that at their peril.
Gillian Koh is Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, National University of Singapore.
Continue reading...