What Makes a Good Politician?

The idea of a “good politician” feels increasingly elusive. As society grows more complex and voices multiply, what qualities should we truly expect from those who lead us?

 

Prince Shōtoku is said to have been able to listen to ten people speaking at once.

Whether this means he literally distinguished ten different voices or that he could handle numerous petitions at the same time, the point is clear: such a capacity is what leaders have always been expected to possess.

As the Diet convenes and political debates dominate the news, I often realize just how many issues confront this country.

A cabinet minister must grasp every matter within their jurisdiction and respond accordingly. A prime minister, who oversees them all, carries an even heavier burden.

In a society where countless individuals can freely raise their voices, politicians today are expected to wield abilities many times greater than those attributed to Shōtoku.

Yet human nature and human capacity have hardly changed in the 1,500 years since his time.

That is precisely why scandals occur endlessly, from the national level down to local politics.

So what, then, are the qualities of a good politician?

Being a politician is not simply about engaging in politics. Integrity grounded in fairness, and an ethical compass befitting a public role model, are essential.

But I doubt many people embody all these qualities. Most excel at something while falling short elsewhere.

And holding strong convictions inevitably creates contradictions. Stand on the right, and one cannot be entirely fair to those on the left—and vice versa.

What, then, motivates someone to become a politician in the first place?

Are they politicians for the sake of politics? Politicians for the people? Or politicians because “politician” happens to be their chosen profession?

To me, these elements seem to blend together indistinguishably, making it hard to discern a clear image of what a politician should be.

Some may say that education doesn’t matter, scandals don’t matter—just win elections and deliver results.

But even if “politics is about results,” how those results are viewed varies across a full 360 degrees. Evaluation changes dramatically depending on where one stands.

What are the qualities of a good politician?
And, more fundamentally, what is good politics in the first place?