Why presidents face no mental fitness test
Presidents are never psychologically assessed, yet police officers are. A debate on leaders' mental health, the subjectivity of reports and the lack of any protocol.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Presidents without psychological screening: a gap nobody knows how to fill
A prime minister in Spain does not need to pass any mental fitness test to take office. A candidate for the national police or the Civil Guard does. That asymmetry – which nobody explains with data, only with anecdotes – resurfaces every time public management raises doubts about the judgment of those in charge.
The calmest argument in favour of psychological exams is simple: those who make decisions affecting millions of people should at least demonstrate a minimum of stability. Against it weighs experience: a psychological report is only as objective as whoever pays for it. If the interested party commissions it, the diagnosis adapts. If their opponents do, it becomes political ammunition.
The most radical proposal sidesteps clinical subjectivity: surprise drug tests for ministers and members of parliament. Less interpretation, more measurable results. But even that runs into the door nobody dares to open: the visible handing over of a politician's body and mind to the public interest.
The market economy has solved the screening of pilots, drivers or surgeons far better. For the office that can do a country the most harm, there is no protocol. And none seems likely to appear.
A prime minister in Spain does not need to pass any mental fitness test to take office. A candidate for the national police or the Civil Guard does. That asymmetry – which nobody explains with data, only with anecdotes – resurfaces every time public management raises doubts about the judgment of those in charge.
The calmest argument in favour of psychological exams is simple: those who make decisions affecting millions of people should at least demonstrate a minimum of stability. Against it weighs experience: a psychological report is only as objective as whoever pays for it. If the interested party commissions it, the diagnosis adapts. If their opponents do, it becomes political ammunition.
The most radical proposal sidesteps clinical subjectivity: surprise drug tests for ministers and members of parliament. Less interpretation, more measurable results. But even that runs into the door nobody dares to open: the visible handing over of a politician's body and mind to the public interest.
The market economy has solved the screening of pilots, drivers or surgeons far better. For the office that can do a country the most harm, there is no protocol. And none seems likely to appear.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (10 replies).
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