Politicucho

[ROBINDESBOIS]

A politicucho is a bad politician, somebody who is in Politics because he doesn't´have any qualifications and for him, it is easy to make money and he has no charisma at all.
How do we say in English?

[Rusty]

We generally think all politicians are bad here in the United States. They get in office and quickly forget who they represent. Those who are elected time and time again are called career politicians. It seems obvious to me that they are so named because they somehow make an awful lot of money doing next to nothing otherwise.

The dictionaries I consult say 'politician' is the translation of politicucho (one says there is no translation of the word). I would say a 'politician' is a bad politician until proven otherwise.
We have some good politicians, but they only get that name if they're generally getting the job done (representing the people).

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by Rusty

Those who elected time and time again are called career politicians. It seems obvious to me that they are so named because they somehow make an awful lot of money doing next to nothing otherwise.

The particular connotation of career politician which I picked up in the UK is someone who goes from university (where they probably studied politics) to working for a political party to running for office without ever having a job in the "real world".

Oxford doesn't suggest any translation for politicucho, althought for politicastro (pey) it suggests politico (pej). I'm not really convinced that politico is pejorative in English, and would generally suggest prepending either a generic insult or an expletive to politician.

A Britishism which might work in some contexts is lobby fodder. That describes a politician who has no opinions of their own and votes whatever the party whips tell them to without complaint. I don't think it really fits the Spanish political system, though: it presupposes the existence of backbenchers who know they can get away with the occasional rebellion as long as their constituents won't get upset, and closed lists preclude that.

[Rusty]

Your understanding is a valid meaning. So is mine.
Both meanings are used here in the USA.

I like lobby fodder, but that isn't used here.
Career politician is. It especially refers to a politician that's been in office for years doing next to nothing in all those years.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I think in Spanish our idea of a "politicucho" or "politicastro" (at least in Mexico) is a bad politician both in terms of being ill-willed, but also being rather mediocre and unfit for their post. This is someone closer to a lousy demagogue, who doesn't really care about constituents or votes or even having a political agenda; they're prone to cheap speeches and inept actions. Their only goal is to stay in the payroll of a political party or in a post in the government. (I met someone who was always mentioned in the news, despite not being anyone really, but he was satisfied with that... and the money he got from his "sponsors", who benefited from the scenes he caused now and then.)


I think we do believe there is something like a "career politician" and politics as an activity that needs bright and competent people performing there.