The Economist - USA (2020-11-21)

26 United States The EconomistNovember 21st 2020

2 armedforces.Thiswould involveanin-

creaseof2,000positionsoverthreeyears,

followedbya four-yearcommitmentfora

further1,400-1,800poststofillprojected

staffinggaps.Adiplomaticreservecorps,

alsoonthemilitarymodel,wouldcreatea

surgecapacityforinternationalcrises.

Second,anotherappetiser,wouldcome

a sweepingprofessionalisationofthetop

ranksofdiplomacy.TheHarvardteamrec-

ommendsthat,by2025,90%ofambassa-

dors,and75%ofallassistantsecretariesof

state,shouldbecareerdiplomats.Farlower

proportionsofpoliticalappointeeswould

bringtheforeignserviceintolinewiththe

militaryandintelligenceservices.

Thecalorificmaincoursewouldconsist

of atransformationoftheState Depart-

ment’sculture.Itwouldinvolveslashing

layersofbureaucracy(policyrecommen-

dationscancollect 15 ormoresign-offson

theirwaytothesecretaryofstate).It would

recreatemid-levelentry-pointstothefor-

eign service.Actions to make America’s

diplomatsmorecloselyreflectthecountry

theyrepresentwouldincludeappointinga

chiefdiversityofficerandtacklingstruc-

turalbiasinrecruitmentandpromotion.

Andfordessert?Bothreportsarguethat

theforeignservice’smandateforthefuture

shouldbe enshrinedinlegislation.This

hashappenedthreetimesinthepastcen-

tury—mostrecentlyin1980,attheheightof

thecoldwar.Discussionswithmilitaryand

intelligenceexpertsinformedthisrecom-

mendation,too.“Unlessyouhavesomeof

thesethingsinthelaw,theywon’tlast,”

saysNicholasBurnsofHarvard,anex-dip-

lomat.Hedetects“considerableinterest”

onCapitolHill.Buttogetreformsthrough

apolarised Congresswouldrequiredip-

lomaticskillsofthehighestorder. 7

L

arry householdersounds unrepen-

tant. Until July the Republican was

speaker of Ohio’s state assembly—a politi-

cian best known for his prodigious fund-

raising and helping his party colleagues

raise cash. Then in July the feds came

knocking. Along with his campaign strat-

egist and three lobbyists, he was arrested

and charged with racketeering. Federal in-

vestigators say the men took $60m from a

power company, widely reported to be

FirstEnergy. It was transferred via a charity

set up as a front. In return they passed a bill

by which the state was to dish out over $1bn

for two failing nuclear plants.

On his arrest Mr Householder lost the

speakership but he fights on, denying any

wrongdoing. He is said to have spent $1m

already on lawyers. This month he was re-

elected, getting more votes and a bigger

majority than two years ago. Voters were

unbothered by news, late in October, that

two of his co-accused had already pleaded

guilty (and both pointed fingers at the ex-

speaker). Nor did voters fuss that he could

face 20 years in prison if convicted. As for

the wider political impact, Mark Weaver, a

political operative in Ohio, calls it a murky

tale but says Mr Householder’s relative lack

of fame means the impact will be slight.

That is not the case in a parallel case un-

folding in Illinois. This week Democrats

there—plotting by phone and Zoom, as the

virus kept them from Springfield—looked

ready to topple their own speaker. Mike

Madigan is a wisp of a man compared with

barrel-chested Mr Householder. But he is

the more powerful, indeed legendary, char-

acter. Known as the Velvet Hammer, Mr

Madigan is reckoned to be the state’s most

powerful politician, one who has seen off

many governors of both parties. First elect-

ed in 1970, when Nixon was president, he

has been speaker since 1983 (apart from a

brief interlude in the 1990s). A relic of the

era of Democratic machine politics, he has

frequently been accused of wrongdoing—

over a scandal at a commuter rail system in

Chicago, and a sexual-harassment case

that took down his chief of staff—yet he al-

ways slipped away unscathed.

This time could be different. As in Ohio,

federal investigators appeared this sum-

mer. They pressed charges setting out how

an energy company, Commonwealth Edi-

son (ComEd), handed jobs, cash and con-

tracts to pals of the politician. Their inves-

tigation spanned eight years to 2019. In a

plea bargain ComEd has already admitted

to paying $1.3m in return for two laws that

weakened regulators’ checks on how it set

rates. That earned the company, at custom-

ers’ expense, an estimated $150m. It has al-

ready agreed to pay a $200m fine and Fidel

Marquez, who ran its government affairs

office until last year, pleaded guilty to brib-

ery in September.

That leaves Mr Madigan vulnerable. He

has not been arrested or charged and he de-

nies any wrongdoing. But a 38-page de-

ferred prosecution agreement between

prosecutors and ComEd sets out in detail

how federal investigators see the dubious

role of “public official A” who is bluntly

identified as the speaker. Voters, especially

beyond Chicago, sound fed up with the

whiffs of scandal around him. After they

delivered a relatively poor result for Demo-

crats in elections this month the governor,

J.B. Pritzker, and both senators for the state,

Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, all

Democrats, rounded on the speaker. Mr

Durbin called the Democratic party in Illi-

nois a “corrupt organisation” and said the

speaker and his allies must go. Forcing him

out, however, depends on swaying Demo-

cratic state legislators, many of whom

dread any idea of crossing Mr Madigan.

Rich Miller, a well-connected journalist

in Springfield, is a veteran watcher of failed

plots against Mr Madigan. This is “by far

the closest it’s got for him, politically and

legally”, he says, especially after investiga-

tors bugged phones of his close officials. As

for politics, Anne Stava-Murray, a newish

Democrat representative who led a lonely

rebellion against Mr Madigan two years

ago, says that she has rallied 13 colleagues,

notably many women, to defy the speaker.

If true, and they hold their nerve, that is

enough to remove him.

One puzzle is why energy companies

are mired in dirt in both states—after all,

machine politicians used to work through

unions and local government depart-

ments. Today energy firms have costly old

assets to maintain, such as nuclear plants,

while demand for electricity is flat at best.

Their fortunes thus depend on regulatory

change and getting subsidies or tax breaks,

in the gift of politicians. In return, they can

offer jobs and favours for friends in office.

Power may corrupt, but in the Midwest it is

power firms that corrupt absolutely. 7

CHICAGO

Parallel political scandals embroil leading politicians in Ohio and Illinois

Corruption in the Midwest

All about power

Mike Madigan and his fascinating rhythm