Journalists love to use the phrase 'to be investigated' because it gives the impression of wrong-doing without saying it and because it gives the other parties a convenient hook to latch onto to call for the person's resignation, suspension or general immolation.br /br /When at the end of a long process that often takes months, even years the person concerned is declared innocent, it is too late, the damage has been done. The accused person's reputation and career has been damaged and he or she is often exhausted both physically and financially through defending his or her reputation.br /br /The damage can be so severe that often those who bear ill-will to a particular politician use the process of complaint as a weapon against them, constantly alleging wrong-doing even when there is no palpable evidence just so that they can then go to the press and onto phone-ins to imply that the politician concerned is guilty by the fact that he or she is associated with an on-going investigation. It takes considerable durability to survive a major allegation of impropriety.br /br /As far as the person being hunted is concerned the principle of innocent until proven guilty goes by the board. It is the media and the reaction to their stories that determine guilt not the process of the law or of regulation. It is the act of complaining and the subsequent and necessary investigation that determines the politician's future, no matter how absurd the allegation.br /br /I am therefore reserving judgement on a target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jul/02/george-osborne-investigated-expenses"George Osborne's mortgage/a until it is properly investigated and a considered verdict has been reached. Mr. Osborne himself is now fighting a battle on two fronts: public perception and the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. He needs to win the latter to survive the rigours of the first, but he needs to fight hardest on the first if the verdict of the second is to matter at all.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8266684-8845342718522207326?l=peterblack.blogspot.com'//div
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Osborne to be investigated
Journalists love to use the phrase 'to be investigated' because it gives the impression of wrong-doing without saying it and because it gives the other parties a convenient hook to latch onto to call for the person's resignation, suspension or general immolation.br /br /When at the end of a long process that often takes months, even years the person concerned is declared innocent, it is too late, the damage has been done. The accused person's reputation and career has been damaged and he or she is often exhausted both physically and financially through defending his or her reputation.br /br /The damage can be so severe that often those who bear ill-will to a particular politician use the process of complaint as a weapon against them, constantly alleging wrong-doing even when there is no palpable evidence just so that they can then go to the press and onto phone-ins to imply that the politician concerned is guilty by the fact that he or she is associated with an on-going investigation. It takes considerable durability to survive a major allegation of impropriety.br /br /As far as the person being hunted is concerned the principle of innocent until proven guilty goes by the board. It is the media and the reaction to their stories that determine guilt not the process of the law or of regulation. It is the act of complaining and the subsequent and necessary investigation that determines the politician's future, no matter how absurd the allegation.br /br /I am therefore reserving judgement on a target="_blank" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jul/02/george-osborne-investigated-expenses"George Osborne's mortgage/a until it is properly investigated and a considered verdict has been reached. Mr. Osborne himself is now fighting a battle on two fronts: public perception and the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner. He needs to win the latter to survive the rigours of the first, but he needs to fight hardest on the first if the verdict of the second is to matter at all.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8266684-8845342718522207326?l=peterblack.blogspot.com'//div
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