Winning elections is exhilarating. Slogans work, crowds cheer, numbers add up, and victory music is played. It is a moment when every politician feels ten feet tall and slightly immortal. But once the fireworks fade and the garlands wilt, something far more serious quietly takes the stage.
Power has been won. Now the question is what will be done with it.
Politics, by its very nature, is about winning. It is a competitive sport, and nobody enters a race planning to lose.
But statesmanship is something else entirely. It begins where the election ends. It is the ability to step back from the frenzy of victory and ask a question that rarely trends on social media.
What is good for the nation even if it costs me popularity.
A politician looks at voters as segments. A statesman looks at citizens as equals.
A politician counts votes. A statesman counts consequences.
A politician asks how long he can stay in power. A statesman asks how he will be remembered when power is gone.
History is surprisingly honest about this. Many rulers stayed in office for years, even decades, but are remembered with embarrassment or anger. Others ruled briefly yet left behind legacies that still inspire. The difference was not intelligence or oratory.
It was fairness. It was restraint. It was the courage to say no to supporters when supporters demanded injustice.
This is the perfect moment for those in power to make that transition.
When victories are frequent and authority is secure, fear should no longer dictate decisions. There is no need to crush dissent or mock opposition. There is no need to label critics as enemies. Confidence in governance allows generosity of spirit.
A statesman understands that justice cannot be selective. Laws cannot change colour, based on who is being judged.
Silence in the face of wrongdoing is not loyalty. It is cowardice dressed up as strategy.
True leadership means protecting the weakest citizen with the same enthusiasm used to protect the strongest ally.
There is also a quiet dignity in listening. Not every protest is treason. Not every question is an insult. When people feel heard, they do not need to shout. When institutions are respected, streets remain calm. Stability does not come from force. It comes from trust.
The irony is that statesmanship is politically profitable in the long run. People may forget campaign slogans, but they remember fairness. They remember leaders who united rather than divided. They remember moments when power chose humility over arrogance.
This is a beautiful time to rise above the smallness of daily political skirmishes. A beautiful time to govern with justice rather than impulse. A beautiful time to remember that power is borrowed from the people and must be returned with interest.
The difference between a politician and a statesman is simple. One wins elections. The other wins his place in history…!
The Author conducts an online, eight session Writers and Speakers Course. If you’d like to join, do send a thumbs-up to WhatsApp number 9892572883 or send a message to bobsbanter@gmail.com
