Stability, Vision, Stewardship
4 years, 5 months, 6 days, 23 hours
15 February 2025
What are the hallmarks of good government?
What are the hallmarks of good government? In an increasingly polarised world, I suspect most people would answer according to their particular ideology, left or right, conservative, liberal or socialist. But I am not so sure that ideology is actually as important as certain more fundamental characteristics, which I would argue should be common regardless of political creed.
First, stability and consistency. Why? Because where there is consistency all stakeholders in a society can plan for the future with a degree of certainty. Stability supports business investment, in both capital and skills which in turn allows for innovation and improvements in productivity. It gives investors confidence, which attracts them to that market over others.
Second, a clear vision for the future. Why? Because that supports an alignment of those stakeholders, and means the country is far more likely to succeed than if different parts of society are pulling in different directions. Even better is if that vision is carried through the various branches of government into supportive ecosystems for the powerhouse of business to drive the implementation.
Third, a stewardship mindset. Why? Because no government owns the country it runs, any more than any of us own our country, even though we may legitimately have pride in it. A stewardship mindset means acting not just through the lens of what is good, or popular, now, but what will bequeath to the next government, the next generation and beyond, a country in the best possible shape for whatever the future may hold and in turn means maximising the chance of achieving long-run prosperity and quality of life in the community.
These musings were inspired by stimulating conversations this week in New Zealand. A country with the most stunning landscapes and the kindest of people, however feeling acutely exposed to the gap between what the country needs to invest and what it can currently afford, exacerbated by its severe exposure to climatic events and the need to urgently improve its asset resilience. That cannot be solved overnight. But a long-term, consistently followed vision for its future would, in my view and many of those I spoke with, be a prerequisite to gradually rebuilding both the country’s buying power and its self-confidence.