Shoot first, ask questions later?

I may have done something very stupid, gentle reader, and all in the cause of honour and integrity... so here is a cautionary tale for anyone who feels that politics should be the preserve of those who believe in such things.

In a burst of enthusiasm after the election of the new Executive Committee, I issued an agenda for our next meeting which included elections of the remaining Officers and of the standing committees, based as much on my (occasionally flawed) memory as any reading of the Constitution, and called for nominations.

One of my fellow Officers responded overnight, indicating his disquiet at my breach of the Regional Constitution and noting that these positions should not be elected until the first meeting in 2006 (I paraphrase slightly...). I opened my e-mail at 9 the next morning and read his comments with alarm.

Pausing only to pour a metaphorical glass of single malt and light a metaphorical cigar, I drafted an e-mail to the Chair, tendering my resignation...

Having read Brian's e-mail, and researched the events of November 2004, I must accept that he is quite right.

Under the circumstances, it seems clear that my position is unexpectedly untenable and, given the way I do politics, it is appropriate that I accordingly tender my resignation as Secretary, effective forthwith.

I then retired to polish my metaphorical pearl-handled revolver and load it before returning to send the e-mail (the metaphorical equivalent of putting the gun to my temple and pulling the trigger - I like this metaphor, it has a real sense of theatre about it). And all this by 9.30...

The remainder of Thursday was spent, quite frankly, in a bit of a daze but I had begun to reconcile myself to the whole experience by the evening, only to get a telephone call from a member of the Regional Executive whose opinion I value highly, advising that someone else had resigned from another part of the Party for reasons rather more heroic (i.e. unnecessary) than mine. I explained to her why I might not be the best person to talk him round but agreed to call him and try to persuade him to change his mind. The two of us have a number of similar issues and I hope that I was in some way persuasive.

To cut a long story short, I came home from English Council this evening with the thought of confirming my error so that, at next weekend's Executive Committee, I could explain my reasoning if required to do so. And that's where this story takes a rather quirky turn... I read the Regional Constitution, which states that both the remaining Officers and the standing committees should be elected at the first meeting of the Regional Executive after the Annual General Meeting.

So, I have now resigned on the grounds that I have committed a breach of the Regional Constitution, even though I actually haven't. Unfortunately, it is my view that a gentleman, having tendered his resignation, cannot then withdraw it, as this would make a mockery of the principle of honourable conduct in public life. As a faceless bureaucrat, if you don't live up to your principles, you bring little else to the party and so I am impaled on the horns of my own ethical code. Has anyone got one of those Swiss Army knives with the gadget for extracting sharp, pointy things from self-inflicted wounds?...