Who Is a Good Politician?

Who is a good politician? Is it the most articulate, the most persuasive, the most likeable? Or is it the one with the most integrity, the most competence, the most quiet resolve to get things done?

These are not theoretical questions. They are the choices Ghanaians face every four years — choices that, more often than not, we get wrong. For decades, our political system has rewarded visibility over vision, and performance over principle. The result is a state full of smooth talkers and loyal henchmen, but starved of serious thinkers and capable managers.

The Problem of Applause

In Ghanaian politics, to be considered “good” is often to be loud, quick with a quote, and endlessly available for interviews. Charisma has become a currency — and like all currencies, it depreciates quickly when there is no real value behind it. Our political stage prizes those who can fill airtime, not those who can fill potholes.

When voters confuse eloquence for intellect, they elect performers, not problem-solvers. And when those performers take office, the real work of governance — the quiet, disciplined, often thankless labour of reform — is neglected for the next soundbite.

Competence Over Charisma

Our best politicians have never been the loudest. They have been the most competent. The examples stand out clearly: John Evans Atta Mills and John Agyekum Kufuor. Both men governed with restraint and seriousness. They were not populists. They did not chase headlines. They expanded the economy, strengthened democratic institutions, and left behind legacies that endure precisely because they were built on competence, not spectacle.

They understood that governance is not theatre. It is stewardship. And stewardship requires humility — the willingness to serve without constant validation, to act for the future rather than perform for the moment.

Parliament’s Decline

In Parliament, the story is even more sobering. Too many of our representatives are not legislators in the true sense but local enforcers of patronage. They are elected by tribe, loyalty, or handouts, and their service reflects the nature of their mandate. They defend party interests more than public good, and speak when they are told to, not when conscience demands it.

There are exceptions — parliamentarians who bring professional or academic rigor to their work, who treat legislation as a craft and not a career. But they are too few, and too easily drowned out by the noise of the political marketplace.

Defining the “Good Politician”

If Ghana is to mature democratically, it must learn to define what makes a politician “good” beyond charisma or tribal affiliation. A good politician is not the one who wins arguments but the one who solves problems. Not the one who can promise everything, but the one who delivers something — consistently, transparently, and well.

Integrity and competence must become the twin tests of leadership. We must learn to value quiet effectiveness over noisy ambition. The politicians who quietly reform systems, who defend institutions even when it is inconvenient, who manage the public purse with prudence — these are the ones worth keeping.

A Different Kind of Leadership

The future of Ghanaian democracy depends on this shift in perspective. If we continue to reward drama over discipline, we will keep electing actors instead of administrators, patrons instead of patriots.

We do not lack talent. We lack standards. And until those standards change, our politics will remain what it is — a revolving stage of personalities rather than a system of principles.

Ghana deserves leaders who are less interested in applause and more interested in progress. The good politician is not the one who wins the crowd, but the one who earns the country.