Commentary
Now what? The dust-up has settled, the votes are in, democracy and decency have triumphed, or disaster has struck. But either way, it’s time to put politics aside and start governing. Which is hard.
I mean in both senses. It’s hard for politicians to turn to governing because, famously, they’re in a very strange profession where the qualifications for getting the job are totally different from the qualifications for doing it. So there’s a very real trap for winners of elections in particular, namely to keep campaigning even after you win.
To some extent they must, because of course the losers aren’t trying to govern, they’re politicking to change the result next time. But they’re also tempted because they’re good at it, through aptitude and practice, whereas on governance they may well possess neither….