UNITED KINGDOM
The Week
Establishment should look beyond its circle and appoint more credible and younger people to these roles
There is a grievous tradition in Britain (and apparently in the Vatican) never to think outside the box when it comes to appointing a committee chairman. Need an inquiry? Send for a tried and trusted member of the establishment. The press is up to no good? Call a senior judge. A scientist is driven to suicide after “leaking” accurate information? Reach for another judge.
Never, but never, think outside the box. Who knows what a loose cannon might get up to? In the eyes of the powers-that-be, committees are set up to soothe troubled brows, not dig the dirt.
The issue is never far away, but is raised this week by two appointments drawn from the usual list of insider suspects. The first is the choice of Lady Butler-Sloss, 80, to chair a panel that will examine the handling of child abuse allegations by public institutions: the second is the selection by Pope Francis of our very own Lord (Chris) Patten, 70, to head a committee to advise the Pope on media strategy.
What the Vatican does is its business. But choosing Patten, the Pooh-Bah of the British establishment since the voters of Bath booted him out of the Commons in the 1992 general election, is close to a joke. Who in their right mind in this age of social media calls a 70-year-old to switch on a computer, never mind devise a digital strategy to help the Pope improve contact with his worldwide flock?
Read more: http://www.theweek.co.uk/uk-news/child-abuse-inquiry/59404/butler-sloss-and-patten-are-there-no-better-candidates#ixzz379tSWlug
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