Spin
it
By
John
Riminton
He
had been employed for over a decade as the “Public Relations
Manager” for a large food-packaging company with the express
mission to “create, promote and maintain goodwill and a favourable
image among the public towards the Company's brand”. It hadn't
been difficult. The Company was world famous and supplied good
quality products. As a result, Oliver (Oliver to his face; Olive
Oily” behind his back) felt that he lacked challenge and decided to
move on. An opportunity arose for a job as “Public Relations
Advisor” to the governing political party and he grabbed it. Even
the derogatory, unofficial title of “Spin Doctor” appealed.
Politics
presented a totally different set of problems for here the problem
was dealing with “misinformation” - maybe the art of politics but
to many people it was spelt “lies” What was a lie? Someone had
written that a lie is a dishonest fact. An old Jesuitical argument
was that it wasn't a lie if the hearer did not have a right to know.
No shortage of opportunities for misinformation in politics, in fact
it lay at the heart of much parliamentary debate. His job would
involve ensuring that misinformation could not be used to undermine
the Party's fragile reputation for integrity.
Some
of the techniques were well known: the “non-apology apology” and
the “non-denial denial” were used almost daily and hardly rippled
the waters but occasionally some politician dropped a real clanger.
In
the event, it was such a clanger that presented Oily with his first
real challenge.
A
very junior Associate Minister, in government as the result of
negotiations with a minor party whose votes were needed, chose a very
public forum to advance a policy that was part of the minor party
platform, but most definitely not part of the ruling party's. As it
happened to be on a conservation subject that had already attracted
a lot of public attention and support the media gathered like flies.
TV interviews, radio talk shows, you name it – there was no way
that statement could be brushed under the carpet, so, how to minimise
the impact?
In
conference with the Conservation Minister, Oily advised that the
Minister go public and concede that, although implementing the
offending policy would harm the economy and lead to the loss of jobs,
it was, nevertheless, a legitimate point of view that the Associate
Minister (who was not, by the way, involved with the Conservation
portfolio) was free to express in a free country. However, as the
electors had rejected that policy at the last election, it would form
no part of his Party's programme while remaining an interesting
discussion point.
The
Minister took the advice, that storm was replaced by another, and
life went on. In private, the PM tore a strip off the offending
Associate Minister and told him that, no doubt, some opportunity
would arise to replace him in the job and that was that.
Oily
was delighted. This job was going to be fun – there was even a
hint of real power.
The
End
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