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Santos´ trips abroad have been on official business, photo Reuters

President of the Colombian Conservatives, Efrain Cepeda today proposed a new law which obliges presidents to break from their state duties to vacation for a minimum of seven days a year.

Were Cepeda´s law to pass, Congress would each year monitor the president´s movements to ensure the forced break had been taken.

As happens now when the president travels abroad, a minister (from the same party) would step into the president´s shoes.

To most overseas observers there is little to dispute in Cepeda´s proposal. The stresses and strains of office are such that not only it is perhaps humane for the head of state to enjoy a brief period away from the daily grind, but more importantly healthy in terms of good governance.

Countless prime ministers and presidents in their memoirs tell us of the healing effect of their holidays, and of this invaluable space to reflect on what was necessary for the country.

Tony Blair was frequently photographed sunning himself in Tuscan villas, while Obama was last August famously criticised for relaxing in the playground of the elite, Martha´s Vineyard.

If the Leader of the Free World can holiday, then surely the Colombian President can be afforded the same luxury.

Although Cepeda is right to bring it forward, this new law would appall ex president Uribe; his famous mantra throughout the eight years of his administration was ´trabajar, trabajar, trabajar´or work, work, work. Uribe felt he owed the country eighteen hours of graft, seven days a week.

Perhaps this view is understandable, but who can honestly say that a country cannot cope without its leader for a few days?

The problem is this, however. Colombia is a country whose political system is highly centralized; the powers of the president, and his resulting duties, are without rival. The division of powers between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary are written into the constitution, of course, but the truth is Colombia requires major reform to redistribute the roles of government.

This law ought to pass under the radar, and it would were these reforms already in replace. The fact Cepeda´s proposal is news is an eloquent reminder of the deficit inherent in Colombia´s democratic checks and balances.

What this law tells us about the Conservative Party is also less than flattering. We are less than a year away from the start of the pre-campaigns for the congressional and presidential elections. Miguel Benito Lázaro in his guest piece last week reported on the Conservatives´ enduring crisis and its failure to establish a credible platform for popular support. 100% Cepeda´s time should be devoted to projects that will generate public approval, that will give voters a reason to believe the Conservatives are fit again to govern.

Holidays for presidents does not sound like a winning slogan.

 

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