You Can’t Have Democracy Without Politics
Perspective: Why "technocratic" prime ministers are the wrong choice
The resignation of Prime Minister Munteanu this week has ignited a long overdue discussion on whether or not “technocratic” prime ministers are really a good idea.
I come down very heavily on the side of - no they are not. And they never have been. People often find “politics” and “politician” to be dirty words. It’s not hard to understand why - the news is always full of stories about corruption and personal enrichment in politics.
The antidote to this rather dark view of politics has become the “technocrat.” The idea is this - a political party wins power but then turns over key parts of governance, even the prime ministership, to an outsider without political ambitions.
The problem with this should be fairly obvious - “politician” is a job title just like “plumber.” Just because a person had a bad experience with a plumber does not mean that they call an HVAC specialist the next time their toilet leaks.
You call a better plumber.
Technical expertise is valuable, but governing is inherently political. Moldova’s repeated search for apolitical prime ministers produces leaders who lack either democratic legitimacy, political skill, or both.
