From regional to provincial, national to municipal, one thing shared by all who enter into the world of politics is the chance they’ll succumb to temptations that come their way.
Sounds a lot like real life, eh?
The deal with the politicians, though, is that there is always someone with an accusation ready to let fly, and so there should be. It’s not all their own money the politicians are spending, after all.
The brouhaha over whether a Castlegar contingent should be heading over to Japan to keep up the niceties of a sister-city arrangement is a good case in point.
It’s true enough that life would go on if such relationships were just cancelled. We’ve enjoyed the benefits of phones for years. With email... and Skype, what’s the point of actually going anywhere? Unless it’s physiotherapy or a trip to the hairsylist, we can pretty much give it a miss.
On the other hand, there is a determined lobby that feels goodwill relationships are worth promoting and preserving, and that face-to-face dealings still have value. In a way, it’s nice to know a visit from a few Castlegarians is desired on the other side of the world.
Either way, as usual, opinions are strong and varied. It’s a relief to realize, at the end of the day, that we all have bigger proverbial fish to fry.
But can we afford the Japanese junket by His Worship and his tight-knit crew?
That depends who you talk to.