the.com/elder statesman
The reward for surviving politics long enough that people forget your scandals.
means A senior, widely respected figure whose long experience in a field earns them deference and a voice even after they've left active power.
from A straightforward compound: 'elder,' from Old English 'eldra,' meaning older or senior, originally used for respected older members of a tribe or community; and 'statesman,' an 18th-century coinage joining 'state' (as in the political state) with 'man,' denoting someone skilled in the art of governing. Together the phrase emerged to describe retired or veteran politicians whose age and experience gave their opinions lingering authority long after their formal power had ended.
- requires
- age plus amnesia from everyone else
- power type
- influence without accountability
- typical habitat
- op-eds and funeral eulogies
- secret function
- criticism sounds wiser than it is