“There is nothing to choose between any of them they are all in it for their own gains and some more than others,” says a disgruntled Mijas Matters reader about politicians.
I have made no secret of the fact that I am working with the Partido Popular both in Mijas, and the Province of Málaga as well as offering a platform on Facebook for people air their grievances in Mijas Costa.
And yes, I am in it for my own gains; so, guilty as charged! But wait a minute, I don’t actually get paid for what I do, in fact, it costs me money and time.
Nevertheless, I am in it ‘for my own gains’. Don’t jump the gun, let me explain what I mean. I live in Mijas, and what is good for Mijas is my gain.
I’ve spent many years working on the fringes of government in the UK as a consultant.
Didn’t get paid for that either! Once a local politician gruffly introduced a meeting with, ‘There have been certain allegations made against my person, and one of the allegators is present in this room’.
Spain’s political image has been sullied by scandal-after-scandal in recent years to the point where people think that if you’re a politician you must be corrupt – which is completely illogical.
You know what, I’ve been overcharged in restaurants, paid for work on my car that I found out was never done, and been short-changed in shops. So, does that mean all waiters, mechanics, and shopkeepers are chancers? Course it doesn’t.
In local politics, career politicians are in the minority. By that, I mean people who get into politics at an early age and make their money from the public purse.
Local politicians, most of whom already have careers or businesses, are less likely to be career politicians.
So why do we do it? I am afraid that a ‘one size fits all’ answer is out of the question here. I am sure that there are those who see it as easy money as you need less qualifications to be a politician than you do to be a waiter, but to do the job well is difficult.
I work alongside Angel Nozal and his team because when Mijas gains, so do I.
And I start the piece with a quote from a disgruntled reader becuase she hasn’t got what she wanted from local politics – so are we all interested in our own gains?
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