Thursday, March 02, 2006

Apologia (bureaucrat + emotion = malfunction)

It is often unwise to blog in a moment of self-indulgence, even more so when you're tired, weary and a mite low. So it is at least a mercy that my quirky sense of catholic guilt is engaged...

In fairness to Tom Brake, he doesn't even know that he's been invited to take up the mover's speech, so I really shouldn't criticise him for a predicted lack of understanding. Whoever briefs him on this point is sure to give him all of the necessary information.

I shouldn't really criticise the Regional Executive either. I invited them to make a decision and they did so. I could have argued my corner but didn't, a valuable lesson for all of you wallflowers out there. We are talking about politicians, remember, they like winning. Me, I like winning too but hate being seen to be pushy about it (alright, go figure...). That's why I'm a faceless bureaucrat.

And most important of all, this should be about more than just self. The whole idea of encouraging the Party to think about diversity issues and then do something about it is that we demonstrate our seriousness about making ourselves reflect the communities we aim to represent.

And on that note, it's time to get ready for Harrogate.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

But Mark, you didn't even say you wanted to propose it - indeed things you said on the night implied the exact opposite.

ATEOTD what matters is winning the motion - and we can have a general celebration of how hard you in particular worked to make this a reality after the event - but first we need to get the job done!

Not to mention that X thousand people received a glossy conference agenda with your name next to the motion, so I think there's some recognition there too ...

Mark Valladares said...

Dear Friend,

You are, of course, absolutely right, a point I hope I have acknowledged second time around. There is an inherent contradiction between not enjoying the spotlight and, at the same time, being a recognition junkie (and I suspect most of us fall into the second category sometimes).

So I should look at this as, if not a valuable lesson learned, then at least a reminder that, if you want something, you have to ask.