I recall when the term flip-flop was commonly used as the name for those rubber, thong sandals, where a strap fit between the toes [1]. Later, in the 1970s, while in university, we built JK flip-flops in our computer engineering course. In this case, a flip flop was a circuit able to switch rapidly between two states [4].
At some point, flip-flop began to be used in politics as a derogatory term for a sudden change in policy or opinion by a public official [3]. The term carried with it connotations of inconsistency, pandering, and hypocrisy.
While pandering might be a root of a political flip-flop, there are other more well-founded arguments for a public official to change their position, such as changes in the fact base upon which a decision or opinion was originally based. Another is a change in the group a public official represents. For example, as a councillor in a small town, he or she might express an opinion reflecting that of the majority of the constituents. However, when that same politician becomes a provincial or national leader, their constituency changes; it becomes wider and with that more inputs need to be put on the scale of decision making. What made sense when representing a small rural riding may not make sense when representing an entire province or country. Simply put, more points of view need to be balanced.
However, public servants are often bound within the margins of a philosophy espoused by party affiliation. Yet, there are plenty of examples of extreme situations when these have been overruled. Hence, common sense is often the final arbiter.
Or, the politician could be unaffiliated, and thus not tied to any philosophical boundaries, and do whatever is expedient.
Bibliography
[1] Muzquiz, Albert. 2018. “Flipping through the History of the Flip-Flop.” Heddels. April 18, 2018. https://www.heddels.com/2018/04/history-flip-flop/.
[2] Wikipedia contributors. 2024a. “Flip-Flops.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. July 21, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flip-flops&oldid=1235836820.
[3] ———. 2024b. “Flip-Flop (Politics).” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. July 24, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flip-flop_(politics)&oldid=1236371359.
[4] ———. 2024c. “Flip-Flop (Electronics).” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. July 31, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flip-flop_(electronics)&oldid=1237708484.
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