Editorial
Begum Zia's 'no' is welcome
Culture of sycophancy can only undermine cause of democracy
WE are heartened as well as relieved that Begum Khaleda Zia has declined the offer to be chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party for life. By doing so, she has made a creditable and wise move. As she has pointed out, the party constitution and her respect for democratic norms do not allow her to accept such an offer.
We might add here that at The Daily Star, we have over the past many days focused on politics involving the BNP. We have spoken of the signals for reforms within the party in wake of Begum Zia's release. We hope that the decline of the offer of life-long leadership of the party by Begum Zia will only carry the process of such reforms forward. The people's expectations are that the BNP will emerge out of its autocratically run image into a truly democratically governed party.
While on the subject, we note with concern the tendency on the part of a class of senior politicians not only in the BNP but also in other parties to be unabashedly sycophantic towards their party leaders. Such politicians have generally, and across the years, proffered bad advice to them which in turn has done grave damage to democracy and the future of the country as a whole. How incorrigible sycophancy can get is gauged from one member speaking of changing the party constitution if needed in order to ensure that Begum Zia continue leading the party as long as she is alive.
What is troubling about such an instance of political sycophancy is that the party leaders thus being indulged take few or no steps to discourage such grossly disturbing instances of ingratiating behaviour on the part of their followers. Political loyalty is surely important, but when it mutates into unashamed genuflection on the part of senior politicians it raises a number of questions about the future of democracy.
Let people remain aware of the evils of sycophancy. Unquestioning loyalty to powerful men and women is a sign of danger. The danger is that this sort of behaviour seeks to suppress dissent within parties and in the long term undermine democratic norms at the national level. At this critical juncture in our national life, we certainly do not need such inexplicable political behaviour. For their part, the top most leaders of the country must beware of flatterers surrounding them.
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