Bluff or bluster, drop prayer stance

The game of poker is a relatively simple pursuit, made complicated by people.

The complicating factor in the card game, in which luck plays a major role, is our ability to mislead, or bluff.

It is a phenomenon that transfers to life, in that people are prone to making bold statements in the hope they will get what they want.

Reading yesterday's coverage of the seemingly never-ending council prayer imbroglio, I wondered if the chief protagonist Clive Solomon is fond of a hand of poker.

Regardless of whether he has a penchant for card games, he would do well to bear in mind that in life, as in poker, there are those who will call your bluff.

For surely his threat to resign his position, and to take the prayer matter to the UN, must be a bluff?

There can be no way he can really believe he is representing the people of Wanganui by burdening them both with the embarrassment of having this sorry saga play out in public - it has been going on since April- and the cost should he follow through.

No one could reasonably expect Mr Solomon to forgo his beliefs and simply toe the line.

He has every right to pursue whatever religious affiliation he chooses, or not at all, as he stated at Monday's meeting.

Likewise, he is fully entitled to object to it being read, as he has done.

He also has the right to argue his case to the highest of authorities; that is after all what a democratic country enables its citizens to do to protect their rights.

But what Mr Solomon appears to have forgotten is his obligation to the people he purports to represent, albeit on a sporadic basis.

It is his duty to represent the people; they elected him on the basis that he would work constructively towards the decision-making process of our local government body to ensure the efficient running of the district council and the city.

That is where his hard line on the prayer falls over.

By absorbing so much of our elected members' time on this peripheral matter, he is doing the opposite.

According to feedback the Chronicle has received, Mr Solomon is out of step with the public on this issue.

Mr Solomon is an intelligent man who should not need reminding that serving on council is about compromise; he was elected to represent a faction of society to the best of his ability, and that means sometimes making sacrifices for the common good, or negotiating.

If this were poker, Mr Solomon has a pair and the people of Wanganui hold all the aces; only they can't play them just yet.

The next election is some time away, so maybe in the interests of the city and people you claim to represent you will take some advice and either cease this nonsense or make good on your threat to resign.

The cost will be outweighed by the gain of having someone on the council who really wants to work for the people.

Feedback: editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz