The Colors of All the Cattle (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #19)

by Alexander McCall Smith

A person could not be forced to stand for office—that would be absurd. She imagined the scene. An official might call on some poor unfortunate citizen and say to her: I’m terribly sorry, but you have been elected President of Botswana. I know you don’t want to do it, but there you are: this is a democracy, and that is how democracies work. She allowed herself a smile at the thought. How would Mma Potokwane react if that happened to her? Would she be able to excuse herself on the grounds that she had quite enough to do in running the Orphan Farm, without taking on the country as well? That would be a cogent and powerful excuse: the children relied on Mma Potokwane, as did the housemothers who looked after them. If she were to go off to live in State House, then who would make the duty rosters, who would order the food for the kitchens, and who would cajole local businesses into sending out the support they gave—the surplus equipment, the spare food, the blankets and toys—all of that? Of course, Mma Potokwane might be delighted to accept, and might come up with some substitute matron from somewhere. She would make, Mma Ramotswe was sure, a very fine president, if perhaps a little bit—just a touch—on the bossy side. With Mma Potokwane installed in the president’s office, she would be able to go and visit her and talk about how things were going in the country. They would eat Mma Potokwane’s fruit cake, which would be delivered from the presidential kitchens—wherever they were...

Snort! Forced to be president. Our problem is the opposite, we have to force some people not to be president.