[Spartikus Rex]

http://www.guardian....http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/23/politicians-stress-mental-health-monitor

Should politicians have their mental health monitored?

When Michael Gove suggested that despite the economic situation, the UK should buy the Queen a new yacht, the Twittersphere went into meltdown. "Fruitcake" and "numpty" were among the reactions to the education secretary's idea. It's a common reaction to unusual – or unpopular – proposals. Nobody really believes Gove is having mental health problems.

But politicians do face high levels of responsibility and therefore stress. They send young people to war zones and determine the future finances of the country.

Now Dr Ashley Weinberg, senior lecturer in psychology at Salford University, suggests politicians should be regularly screened to test their psychological health and ensure "they are in the best position to make decisions in the national interest".

"Decisions that mean people will lose their lives are very painful," he says. "They are bound to take a psychological toll, and it will be down to a politician's coping strategies as to how they deal with it." Only a small proportion of MPs go on to high office, but even the average constituency MP has to be aware that their votes on broader policy issues such as benefit levels and healthcare priorities may cause hardship for some people.

Most other professionals undergo a comprehensive medical before being confirmed in post, but MPs simply get themselves elected, turn up to the Commons and start voting – whatever their state of physical and mental health, says Weinberg.

Though Westminster has had an occupational health facility for years – about 40% of MPs make use of it – the work pressures and lifestyle demands placed even on backbenchers can, Weinberg says, give rise to genuine health concerns. And these have never influenced the formal criteria for candidate selection – what kind of person will have the resilience to cope? – or prompted longer-term support for members of parliament once they get in.

"Despite the litany of poor decisions made by politicians who have become ill after taking office, there has been an unwillingness to recognise the worst-case scenario – a leader bent on a dubious political goal from which their psychological health or inability to cope prevents them from deviating," he warns.

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