Unlike
politicians, the latter rarely come in for criticism; nor should they unless
they, too, have become ‘political’.
Three people,
historically, have constituted the most exclusive group of senior public
servants: the Clerk of the Executive Council (also known as the Cabinet
Secretary), the Deputy Minister of Finance and the Secretary to the Treasury
Board. Now, there are only two; in 2005, Treasury Board was emasculated after
it was rolled into the Dept. of Finance.
The Clerk of
the Executive Council and the Deputy Minister of Finance are the two high priests
of the public service. Their professionalism
and leadership are always in demand. Those
who occupy the positions are expected to be ‘macro’ thinkers, ‘fixers’ and ‘experts’
on public policy matters. They are the
people, who whisper into the ears of other senior public servants, the
Departmental Deputies, when the latter overstep sensibly constructed boundaries,
especially those which are political. That
is why the greatest currency of any senior advisor is an unblemished track
record.
Of course, there
is never a guarantee that the Premier will ask for, or listen to, the counsel
of her senior advisors. That is her prerogative. But, experience suggests the
wiser ones prevail, more often than not. 