Since Independence, it’s been a 67-year wait for an ideal politician in the Indian Parliament

India could do with a Jakob Maria Mierscheid in Parliament, at least in the fractious Rajya Sabha, as it may prove a tad difficult to bring the German politician into the Lower House for another four and a half years or so. In these times when political discourse has become more ‘diss-curse’, this highly respected member of the Bundestag would be an apt role model. Especially as he is just that: an exemplar rather than a reality. Though he debuted 35 years ago this month as just an ideal ‘composite’, his fictitious life has since been fleshed out as an example of an ideal politician — an honest, conscientious father of four who trained as a tailor before being ‘elected’ to Parliament in 1979 — to be a benchmark for his ‘colleagues’ and the electorate.

He remains unseen in the Bundestag, but has personalised stationery, a Twitter account and even a walkway named after him. Not only is the hearteningly media-shy legislator credited with the prescient Mierscheid Law — that correlated his Social-Democratic Party’s wins with North-Rhine Westphalia’s steel output — he is said to be a vigorous opponent of red tape and political verbosity — both of which plague India as well. Indeed, Mierscheid’s existence proves that if no model elected representative exists, it’s better to just invent one. India would do well to consider it.