The role of opposition parties

In the past we used to joke about civil servants working from 0800 to 1700 hrs. They arrived at the office at 0800 hrs and at 1700 hrs they left the office. In between they did nothing. This could also describe the work or role of the opposition parties. They started to come alive during a GE and subsequently went to sleep. Ok, they did a bit more than that. They attended Parliament to ask questions. When Parliament is not in session they spend their times looking after the town councils, to make sure their constituencies are clean and the street lights are working and the once a week meet the people session. Those who need not attend Parliament, got no town council to look after, got no MPS to attend, they just went into hibernation. These seem to be the role of opposition politicians.

If politicians are not elected, they cannot attend Parliament, no town council to be responsible to, and no MPS, so nothing to do. Is that so? Does an opposition politician have a voice without being in Parliament to ask questions? Can they participate or play a part in the upkeep and well being of the constituents without a town council or without a MPS?

Without the privilege of being in Parliament to ask questions, the opposition politicians still can ask many questions outside Parliament to hold the govt accountable for their policies and actions. They can raise issues, engage in discussions on matters affecting the people and country and keep the govt on its toes, to check on the govt, without being in Parliament.

There is the social media, the respective websites of the political parties and yes, even the main media can be called upon for press conference to say their piece. If opposition politicians just fade away after a GE, and keep their mouths shut in between GEs, they would very likely be forgotten.

In between GEs is the time for them to build up their credentials, their positions on issues and to get the coverage they needed, so that by the next GE they will be well known and be familiar faces to the electorate. They need to be in the minds of the people, that they are there, that they are concerned with issues affecting the people. By talking about issues, by making their stands, the electorates get to know them better, get more time to measure them and feel comfortable with them, and when the GE comes around, they are already established and well known personalities to the people.

In between GEs are important time for the opposition politicians to build up their credibility. Why do the people think some politicians are fit to be politicians? It is because they are in the news over the period before the next GE. People get used to them and subconsciously think that they are politicians. As for opposition politicians, they are just like strange things, untested, unknown and thus unsure. Opposition politicians must become household names, their names must be on the lips of the people, be part of the unofficial establishment, part of the political landscape, that they are good enough and ready to be in Parliament, that they are politicians.

Wake up and don’t go to sleep. The jobs of opposition politicians did not stop at Parliament or doing town council works. It is a continuous process, a never ending process. It does not stop after a GE.