Quote Originally Posted by Viking View Post
In any country that has been at least somewhat functional, I would expect that the art of running the country with a certain level of skill would be embedded in the the party structure and program in some sense of any political party that has been active in the governance of that country.

Thus, in a 'well-run' country, becoming part of the party elite is likely to indicate that some level of skill in running the country has been gained along the way.

Yet, even if a country is what we could call functional or well-run, the potential for improved governance may still be substantial. Perhaps more importantly, if some part of a party program has been optimal for most of a political party's history, a change in the (e.g. geopolitical) environment may leave such policies outdated and inefficient, maybe even dangerous.

This latter part is where there could be a significant difference between the idealistic scenario I am describing and current reality. Although perhaps many political parties and leaders already are at this level of pragmatism, I contend that many parties and politicians are leaning heavily on the dogmatic side and adapt to new realities inconveniently slowly, if at all. The ideology and platform of a party tend to in practice to place taboos on the implementation of or change in certain policies that perhaps should be changed or implemented.
It doesn't always happen though; see the current state of the British Labour party for example. Those who have had any kind of experience of government, administration, or even real world work have been written off for their connotations with the "Blairite" (ie. business friendly) ideology. The rump that is left, especially those in the inner core who direct the party, have no experience except participating in protests and writing about them. There is actually a fair amount of administrative and political talent in the PLP that could form a formidable shadow or even government cabinet. However, the direction of the party is such that that talent is being squeezed out by purist ideologues, with the support of the fanatical new membership (members who voted Labour in the 2015 election back Smith 2:1, but the new members back Corbyn in far greater numbers). One sadly illustrative banner from one of Corbyn's rallies read, "I'd rather have principles than power". Not the best approach to have when you're the only viable opposition.