The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 9 letter word ELDER STATESMAN
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
E
L
D
E
R
S
T
A
T
E
S
M
A
N
More clues leading to the result ELDER STATESMAN
- Respected politician’s condition accepted by presbyter’s staff
- Wise politician deals cunningly with matters in short space
- Bush, say— and now Cameron?
- Maybe Clinton or Bush says war needs backing
- Pants smelt – ran and teased John Major?
- Outrageously starlets demean veteran politician
- Revolutionary leaders test bishop, say, as political adviser
- Church official says piece for politician
- Cabinetmaker once possibly says staff must join wood
- Bush says piece as politician
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Wise politician" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case wise politician = elder statesman.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.