A national hero is poised to jump from the boxing ring into the presidential palace..
WHILE Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather battled in the ring in Las Vegas to determine which of them the sportswriters should call the greatest boxer of their generation, Mr Pacquiao’s homeland was strangely peaceful: across the Philippines, long periods of expectant hush were interrupted by brief outbreaks of intense roaring and cheering. Ordinary Filipinos in their thousands crammed into public places, wilting in the heat, to watch the fight—free of charge—on huge screens provided by local politicians. Their chorus of whoops and howls also echoed throughout the air-conditioned cinemas showing the bout, in urban households that could afford their cable-television company’s fee, and in mountain-top bamboo huts where the only electrical appliances are radios.
A collective groan greeted the announcement of Mr Mayweather’s victory, on points. But Mr Pacquiao remains a national hero. His sporting achievements, rags-to-riches story and unpretentious manner have earned him the sort of popularity and wealth that politicians, say, can only dream of. So whether he seeks a rematch or retires from boxing, another title now beckons: president of the Philippines. It is a title he is well qualified to win. Pacquiao has made no secret of his political ambitions, although his path to the presidential palace is unmapped. He is already a member of the House of Representatives, albeit an inconspicuous member, while boxing takes priority. TMZ, an American website, has quoted his boxing promoter, Bob Arum, as saying that Mr Pacquiao may run for a seat in the senate next year, using it a springboard to the presidency.
Popularity and wealth are among the chief qualifications for becoming a viable presidential candidate, in a political system where personality and potential to win outweigh ability, policies and parties. Since the Philippines’ restoration of democracy in 1986, the tendency has been for its politicians to coalesce around whomever they regard as the most unbeatable presidential candidate. They trade their support for patronage. A president needs the backing of congress and local governments to wield power, while members of congress, governors and mayors need the spoils provided by a president to wield their own power through subsequent terms in office.
Any lack of administrative aptitude makes a president especially dependent on his political supporters. Policies are barely mentioned in election campaigns, appearing only later, governing coalitions form around the presidential candidate. The mainstream political parties are best understood as vehicles for sharing out campaign funds. A party’s membership balloons if presidential candidate wins and shrivels if he loses. From the typical Filipino politician’s point of view, Mr Pacquiao is thus ideally suited to be president: he has never administered anything bigger than his own household, so he must depend on others; no policy other than general beneficence towards the people has been heard from him, so no promises need be kept; and he has plenty of money for attending politicians to share out in order to keep themselves in office.
Mr Pacquiao lacks only a political pedigree. The incumbent president, Benigno Aquino, was a similarly inconspicuous member of congress until the death of his mother, the ex-president Corazon Aquino, restorer of democracy. On Mrs Aquino’s death, an upwelling of popular hope that her son would turn out to be as heroic as she had been made him the unbeatable candidate for president. By exploiting popular sentiment, this system can turn just about any beloved celebrity into a president, as it did for Mr Aquino. Joseph Estrada, an actor, earned enough good will by playing good guys in the movies to become the unbeatable presidential candidate in 1998. He was booted out of office, in 2001, only after he and one of the political cronies he had attracted fell out over the loot from their joint corruption.
By obliging a president to return political favours,his system can reduce a hero to being a mere cheerleader, or worse. Mr Pacquiao may well be an unbeatable bet for the highest office. But the presence of a gaggle of supporting politicians in his corner would seem to make it improbable that he will ever be as outstanding in the presidential palace as he has been in the boxing ring.
