“We cannot do that, do you want them to start asking for
compensation”, argued a public servant - by “them” meaning the
public who paid their salaries, in general, and the victims of marine
accidents, in particular. Behind that line lies a sincere astonishment that the
entitlements of ordinary members of the public could seriously be considered.
When it came to expenses, however, – some quite inexcusable – public
servants would say, “We’ll charge it to the Vote.”, the “Vote” meaning
the same unsuspecting public, destined to be sponged by the State as a matter
of course, rather than as an exception. The politicians’ disregard for the
voters’ interests may have rubbed off on the public servants who worked so
close to government politics
We must emphasise that the authors of the above
statements were not elected representatives, but bureaucrats appointed to public
positions by virtue of a job contract. It is possible that when making those
comments – and let’s not be too affronted by them, as more shocking admissions will soon
need to be copied and shared – the unelected bureaucrats in question, just like our elected
officials, may have felt that their elevated status and allegiance did not rest with the taxpayer.
