Speaking the truth

In our world of political spin and evasion, it’s rare to hear any government leader speak the truth and openly admit to mistakes.

So it was very refreshing to hear some honest comments spoken by President Macron in a televised address to the French people a couple of days ago. During his speech he admitted several times that his government had made mistakes in the procurement of testing equipment, masks and other protective medical gear.

He said:”Were we prepared? No, clearly not enough. There were failings, there was a lack of material.” His humble and apologetic message is reported to have been broadly met with approval by the French people.

Truth-telling also came to the fore last week when former President Obama took part in a virtual gathering of mayors from more than 300 cities across the world. In a speech during the online event organised by Bloomberg Philanthropies he urged:”Speak the truth. Speak it clearly. Speak it with compassion. Speak it with empathy with what folks are going through.

“The biggest mistake any of us can make in these situations would be to misinform, particularly when we’re requiring people to make sacrifices and take actions that might not be their natural inclination.”

As we see and hear international leaders speak about the pandemic, I am sure we can all distinguish between those who are telling the truth and those who are deliberately lying and misleading their people. Sadly, there are too many deceivers to mention here.

We are also becoming pretty experienced in spotting the more subtle techniques used in avoiding the truth – the evasions, obfuscations and distractions. For example, it is instructive to contrast President Macron’s admission of failings with the recent sophistry of British ministers when challenged by the media about the lack of protective equipment for front-line health workers.

However, it is heartening to see some rays of light in the world created by those standing up for the truth. In Germany, Chancellor Merkel’s political fortunes have risen sharply due to her straightforward, direct messaging during the pandemic crisis. The Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, has been praised for his honest and humane approach. And, as I mentioned in a previous post, Jacinda Ardern has won over the New Zealand people with her down-to-earth, truthful manner.

In conclusion, let’s do what we can to hold our national and local leaders to account if they stray from the path of honesty and transparency during this crisis. If we are in a position to be able to demand the truth from them, then we must do so.