Christian Estrosi, the turbo-candidate, persists and signs. After the 15 proposals on the theme of “Better Living,” here are now the 10 commitments of the Nice Ensemble Ethics Charter.
In clear terms, those who will be part of the list led by the outgoing mayor in the municipal elections, first as candidates, and then as elected officials, will need to meet the criteria provided and commit to respecting them throughout their term.
An Independent Ethics Committee will be created and will be responsible for its implementation. In case of election, the president is expected to be Jean-Pierre Royaneze, a former magistrate of the Commercial Court of Nice and the Court of Appeal of Paris.
Christian Estrosi thus wanted to explain this initiative: “Anti-politics feeds on the image of the politician who takes advantage of his position for personal purposes. The ‘all corrupt’ idea does not suit me, and we must make the distinction: some on one side, others on the other. Even if my team and I have made no mistakes in this mandate, I believe we must go even further and be as exemplary in form as we are in substance. I want this behavioral choice to be clear before the elections and controlled during the mandate. It is up to each one to choose to accept it or not.”
The National Assembly having already voted on a code of ethics, what characterizes the Nice ethics charter?
By reading the various points, one finds instructions responding to the principle of “how to act best,” which Greek philosophers gathered in “telos.” One finds, even if sometimes a bit randomly, the fundamental questions of social behavior, the triangle of ethics of “I want, I can, I must.” And then, but without a real guiding thread, a bit of the moral philosophy of Aristotle, the ethics of Spinoza, and the morality of Kant.
Yes, all this might seem a bit of a salad, but being in Nice…
It remains an advanced text that opens the door, under condition, to a popular referendum, which would be a first in citizen democracy. The opponents of the underground tramway project must be dreaming of it.
In conclusion, the essential is that future candidates should be aware that representative democracy requires elected officials not only to have a status of moral obligations (inscribed in the American constitution inspired by Puritanism as “moral stand”) but also to exhibit exemplary behavior in the exercise of public office.
Good luck to all!
