88. Integrity provides good reasons for resigning
SPs accused of inappropriate behavior can resign in order to maintain their honor. This requires precision because others may see it as running away from responsibilities and showing a lack of accountability. SPs may also have good reasons for resigning due to an environment lacking integrity. This also requires precision because others may see it as (1) naïve, (2) cowardly, (3) false, (4) hypocritical, or (5) betrayal. Threatening resignation can be a way of improving the integrity of the environment, although SPs should not do this too often, as it then loses credibility.
A lack of personal integrity can lead to SPs having to step down, as stated in previous chapters. Nevertheless, this does not mean you always have to show a lack of integrity before resigning. SPs may take the honorable way out and accept the consequences by stepping down. Resignation does not have to be limited to situations in which SPs consider themselves guilty. They can also resign to allow a proper investigation into their behavior. One minister resigned when an investigation into his expenses started, because he felt that a minister should be able to operate with uncontested authority and that continuation of his position was incompatible with the freedom to respond to the findings of the investigation. Another mayor charged with fraud over a real estate project stepped down despite claiming to be innocent, because he wanted the time to defend himself properly. Furthermore, a minister accused of incorrectly informing parliament explained that he was resigning because responding to accusations required too much of his energy, so that he could not operate properly in his job.
Integrity requires precision when resigning in such situations. If you resign without admitting guilt, it can create the impression that you have taken to your heels and are evading your responsibilities and accountability. When a mayor decided to resign during an integrity investigation this led to criticism because it deprived the municipal council of the most important weapon for punishing her if she was found guilty. Another mayor remained in a similar situation for this reason and stated publicly that he wanted to take responsibility by handing in his resignation directly after the report had been discussed by the municipal council. Another mayor announced his departure at the end of the council meeting in which his integrity was discussed, but was then criticized for arranging a severance payment in the meeting recess: the noble aspect of handing in his resignation was difficult to reconcile with arrangement of financial interests.502
Besides a suspected or proven lack of personal integrity, there are other integrity-related reasons for resigning, when SPs find that their own integrity is irreconcilable with that of the environment in which they work. They may feel, for example, that the environment damages their integrity or puts it under pressure, they may not wish to be associated with an environment in which integrity is absent, or may see no further opportunities to improve the integrity of the environment. SPs may also resign because they can no longer support the policy of the organization they belong to. There is no longer any connection, any integrity, between the SP and the policy.
In such situations, again, integrity demands precision. Onlookers will pay close attention to whether SPs resigning have been naïve (could they have already known this before they started?), whether they made sufficient attempts to turn the tide (what have they done themselves to change what they disapprove of; have they been cowardly?), whether they are acting on purely good intentions (is the resignation a matter of self-interest?), and whether it is hypocritical (are they resigning over something they have been guilty of themselves?). Elected SPs may also encounter accusations of betraying voters: the voters are let down when an SP fails to serve a full term. The same accusation of betrayal threatens other SPs who are nominated or appointed in the expectation that they will serve out their term of office or complete the job.
Resigning due to a lack of integrity in the environment can improve the environment if it is given publicity. At the same time resigning is not the only means of calling for attention. Simply threatening to resign can be a powerful gesture. A prominent example is US General George Marshall. During the Second World War, President Franklin Roosevelt attempted to keep back a critical article from a military newspaper. When Marshall received this request from an informant close to Roosevelt, he let Roosevelt know that if he were to receive the request in writing he would immediately resign. Marshall drew a clear boundary, and it worked, as no written request was ever forthcoming.503 At the same time it is worth being careful not to threaten resignation too readily. It is a serious resource that only works for fundamental issues. Threatening resignation too often is a risk to credibility.