Leadership – Integrity as A Unique Selling Point?

First of all, the following is not a political commentary, but one with a perspective on leadership positions and the responsibilities that come with them.

In January, a court judgement was announced which stated that the personal rights of National Councillor Sibel Arslan had been violated in a fake video that National Councillor Andreas Glarner had posted online in October 2023. Glarner ultimately had to pay a total of over three thousand eight hundred francs. He decided not to defend himself against the judgement.

Not because he felt sorry for the whole thing, if his comments are anything to go by. 

Empathy? Missing. This requires more than "a certain understanding" for the fact that Mrs Arslan felt that her personality had been violated. Especially when this understanding is expressed in the "moreover" section alongside the main reason that an appeal would probably have taken too long to get the video back on air in time for the elections. 

So that's what he would have preferred to do, even though a civil court had come to the conclusion that it would have been a violation of personal rights. Insight? Regret? Completely non-existent.

But it goes even further: when asked by Tamedia about his silence, Glarner said: "It was worth the fun."

Can you remember? Maybe not, because this remark went pretty much unnoticed by the media, so I wondered whether we actually consider something like this to be normal. There was so little outrage that I thought I'd have to make up for it now.

So it was worth the fun for him. What "it" exactly, please? Violating personal rights? Putting a fellow politician in public trouble? Running an election campaign with falsified information?

Leaders are closely observed and are, whether they like it or not, role models, that should be clear. Including Mr Glarner as a senior politician. So what is the message here? "Violate norms and break the law if it's fun enough"? You can just pay the fine.

Yes, why not? Spoilt brats of rich parents who are pulled over for speeding in their Maserati sometimes just wave their hundred notes and ask if they can pay the fine straight away, because they're in a hurry as the party in Hurden is about to start...

Putting your own fun before obeying the law: Unfortunately, it sounds all too familiar. This may only be a toy version compared to the orange presidential candidate, but it's enough to cause considerable damage.

Political views aside, one thing is clear: from a leadership perspective, he has flunked the test. Below ground.

When integrity becomes a unique selling point, we really are on a bad path, and I honestly don't always find that easy to bear. All the more important to keep the flag flying high. 

So let's look in other directions, in directions with a better outlook. And don't get infected by bad style.