Do politicians really make excellent envoys?

The debate on politically appointed envoys is going to get much more intense

The Interpreter has kept its eyes on political appointees to Australia’s diplomatic posts. Daniel Flitton’s most recent piece ended with the observation that the government should better explain why politicians make “excellent envoys”. The government explanation is likely to be, in the most diplomatic terms, “referred back to full committee”. So in the meantime, let’s take a look at the debate.

Those in support of political appointees emphasise three interconnected arguments.

First, political appointees give the receiving state the confidence that their views are accorded privileged status to the government of the day. Parliamentarians, particularly those with recent or long-standing service at ministerial level, are naturally assumed to hold strong links with former colleagues. For the receiving state, this implies they will “have the ear” of the government of the day.

Second, political appointees demonstrate the sending state accords the bilateral relationship a high degree of signific…