Drinking at work: it's an ancient and venerable tradition, and one that enjoyed a great deal of popularity in the United States not too long ago. While the practice is still popular in continental Europe, American office culture has in recent decades largely succumbed to the influence of the teetotalers. Manyhavelamented this shift to sobriety, but another nation of Anglophones is demonstrating why it might not be such a bad idea.
On Monday, the Finance Minister of the Australia's New South Wales province, Greg Pearce, was asked to leave a parliamentary session for being too drunk to participate in debate.The Sydney Morning Herald reports:
Mr. Pearce was reportedly so inebriated during a marathon sitting of the upper house to debate changes to victims' compensation laws, which concluded at about 4.30am on Thursday, [that] he had to be excused from Parliament.
Though Pearce has denied the charges, the Parliament is currently mulling proposals to institute a code of conduct governing responsible alcohol consumption.
The problem of drinking on the taxpayer dime is not limited to Australia. The Telegraphreported in March, after the arrest of a Tory MP for a drunken assault, that British MPs spent a total of £1.33 million in 2011 on alcohol in the nine different bars located in the House of Commons. Lest we think this is merely a problem for English-speakers, drunken ministers, presidents, and even colonels have appeared all over the world. Some highlights:
- March, 2013 -- UN diplomats are reprimanded by US officials for being too drunk for budget negotiations.
- July, 2010 -- A British MP admits he was "too drunk to vote" on Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne's budget. (to be fair, the vote was taken at 2:07 a.m.)
- January, 2010 -- A Belgian MP blames his slurred speech on dyslexia.
- February, 2009 -- A visibly drunk Japanese finance minister is caught on tape at the G7
- January, 2002 -- German troops trade beer for US military intelligence
- 1991-1999 -- Boris Yeltsin's entire career
The New South Wales Parliament has indicated that it will not move for a blanket ban of alcohol use while in session, but it is probably wise that they institute some restrictions rather than let the problem ferment. As for Pearce, he maintains that he was merely sleepy.