Malaysia, Cronyism, And The Art Of The ‘Good Resignation’

If politics is the art of the possible, graceful exits are the art of the impossible. It’s very hard to resign from public office under a cloud of suspicion and come up smelling of roses. But timing does matter. In the foul-mouthed BBC comedy ‘The Thick Of It’, a satire on New Labour, a bullying spin doctor called Malcolm Tucker urges a minister to step down to quell the uproar over his transgressions. “It is possible to have a good resignation,” Tucker tells the incredulous minister. Oh yes? comes the reply. So Tucker lets rip (minus my censorial ***s):

Look, people really like it when you go just a bit early! You know; steely jawed, faraway look in your eyes! Before you get to the point when they’re sitting round in the pub saying “Oh, that f***er’s got to go!”, you surprise them! “Blimey, he’s gone! I didn’t expect that! Resigned? You don’t see that much anymore! Old school! Respect! I rather liked the guy! He was hounded out by the f***ing press!” How about that, eh? What a way to go!

via The Thick of It – Wikiquote.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmontlake/2012/03/13/malaysia-cronyism-and-the-art-of-the-good-resignation/