15th June 2008
The Malta Independent - Friday Wisdom
The Malta Independent - Friday Wisdom
To say t
hat Joseph was not my first
preference for Labour leader is probably an understatement. That Joseph was
elected with a large majority of the conference delegates is an undeniable
fact.
So whilst upholding my view that Joseph does not represent the best risk-adjusted return* for Labour, this does not in any way impute that he is destined to fail. When a week is a long time in politics, five years are an eternity and things can change drastically for better or for worse.
Certainly the cards are stacked in Joseph’s favour. As the PN extend their tenure of power, voter fatigue in their regard will grow, possibly exponentially. Joseph’s predecessor came within a whisker of cashing in on this voter fatigue last March and was only denied success by his personal deficiency in credibility and ill-thought policies, which exposed convenience rather than conviction. It is true that at last election the PN gained some votes through their power of incumbency, but it is also true that they lost much more through the liability of incumbency that translates into voters’ fatigue.
Joseph is energetically attempting to throw away the baggage of his pre-2004 views on Malta’s potential as an EU member so that he comes along with little or no baggage. His first week in the post augurs well on his ability to develop policies based on conviction that will persuade a majority of the electorate he can be trusted with an opportunity to be a national rather than a mere party leader.
Still, Joseph has to work hard to achieve success and he desperately needs four basic things in his quest for it. He needs space, time, support and, most of all, undiluted good honest advice.
To start with, he needs space. Joseph should demand space, especially from those who helped him accede to leadership. Anyone who expects reward for doing what one believes in should be treated with extreme caution. The reward for those who helped him is having been successful, rather than gaining in status or importance in compensation. Joseph must be permitted to build his team on a blank sheet of paper. In doing so, a short prayer every day to the Almighty, asking Him to guard him from his friends whilst Joseph takes care of his adversaries or critics, would not be amiss.
Joseph needs time. It would be a grave mistake to rush too quickly into building an image as a strong alternative to Lawrence Gonzi. Peaking early is as dangerous as leaving it too late. The important thing is to build credibility gradually, one day at a time. In the meantime, let the PN fall into a sense of complacency whilst Joseph spends his initial energies re-inventing and re-invigorating the soft infrastructure of the party. Such calls as “your honeymoon is over – Labour is back in business” should be avoided at this early stage. Joseph must let the facts speak for themselves rather than come across as the bullying type. It does not become him.
Whatever the potential stored inside him, this is a new experience and quite a few banana skins await him. Dancing his way around them is going to demand a lot of support. Support from his family, in showing unity while suffering in silence until they can grow the thickness of skin to withstand repeated attempts for his destruction from those that do not wish him well in the zero sum game of politics. Support from his friends, who may be disappointed that he is not being grateful enough for the help they showed him in the process to get here. Support from neutrals, who should not rush to judge him by the inevitable gaffes that he will commit as he learns to handle the ropes of his new job. Support from his critics, who should not spare him any criticism but should do it with good intent to build him up rather than to destroy him. And even the support from his adversaries and “enemies” in pulling no punches, as this will help him get used quickly to the career he has now chosen.
Joseph should not believe for a single moment that his aspired new way of doing politics will be reciprocated by his political adversaries. Inevitably, they will continue to use all the tricks in the book to crush him and break him before he can build himself up. And as the PN is networked well with other power centres in society, such attacks will come from different sources, not necessarily the evident direct line of the political adversary.
They will criticise the way he speaks, the way he stands, the way he walks, his wardrobe and fashion tastes and all the other minutiae, while downplaying the substance of his political message. He should not be oversensitive in reacting to such criticism or in adopting it, hoping to silence them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Joseph should make every effort to continue to be himself. Whatever he says or does, he should do it his way, as people can tell the difference between natural and artificial behaviour. People will choose a natural defect over a perfect artificiality every time.
But above all, Joseph needs good advice. The biggest mistake he can make is to surround himself with a court of yes-men, determined to please their leader by giving him only messages that delight him and protect him from the unpleasant realities that he must overcome in order to succeed. Joseph must ensure that he keeps open a spectrum of lines of communications both within and outside the party. He should live his interesting recognition that his critics are his best friends. Indeed they ought to be.
Joseph’s new role will demand a level of decision-making that he has never experienced before. A leader is as good as the decisions he makes. The leader’s decisions need to have a strategic purview that continually reinforces the social democratic doctrine of the party – strategic decisions that help achieve sustainable economic growth through business-friendly policies, coupled with distribution of wealth models that protect those who cannot protect themselves, those who, because of age, sickness or genuine unemployment, cannot participate fairly in the wealth creation process of normal economic activity.
This demands a very fine balance of sound economic posture and socially progressive measures. No 50 per cent reduction in the fuel surcharge at a time of exploding international energy costs, as this is socially regressive and stimulates a waste of scarce resources. No convenient crusades against internationally accepted models and standards like VAT. No pretensions that government can or should be like Santa Klaus, protecting us against international realities of high energy and food costs. Recognition that there are certain problems for which we have no immediate solution and that the burden should be fairly spread to avoid any hardship on those who are already too close to the bread line.
Having these four things does not guarantee Joseph any success. That is something on which he has to work for himself.
* Risk adjusted return is a term used in investment in order to establish a relationship between the return achieved and the risk assumed. So if an investment generates x return with y risk, it is considered better than a similar investment that also produces x return with y+1 risk.
hat Joseph was not my first
preference for Labour leader is probably an understatement. That Joseph was
elected with a large majority of the conference delegates is an undeniable
fact.So whilst upholding my view that Joseph does not represent the best risk-adjusted return* for Labour, this does not in any way impute that he is destined to fail. When a week is a long time in politics, five years are an eternity and things can change drastically for better or for worse.
Certainly the cards are stacked in Joseph’s favour. As the PN extend their tenure of power, voter fatigue in their regard will grow, possibly exponentially. Joseph’s predecessor came within a whisker of cashing in on this voter fatigue last March and was only denied success by his personal deficiency in credibility and ill-thought policies, which exposed convenience rather than conviction. It is true that at last election the PN gained some votes through their power of incumbency, but it is also true that they lost much more through the liability of incumbency that translates into voters’ fatigue.
Joseph is energetically attempting to throw away the baggage of his pre-2004 views on Malta’s potential as an EU member so that he comes along with little or no baggage. His first week in the post augurs well on his ability to develop policies based on conviction that will persuade a majority of the electorate he can be trusted with an opportunity to be a national rather than a mere party leader.
Still, Joseph has to work hard to achieve success and he desperately needs four basic things in his quest for it. He needs space, time, support and, most of all, undiluted good honest advice.
To start with, he needs space. Joseph should demand space, especially from those who helped him accede to leadership. Anyone who expects reward for doing what one believes in should be treated with extreme caution. The reward for those who helped him is having been successful, rather than gaining in status or importance in compensation. Joseph must be permitted to build his team on a blank sheet of paper. In doing so, a short prayer every day to the Almighty, asking Him to guard him from his friends whilst Joseph takes care of his adversaries or critics, would not be amiss.
Joseph needs time. It would be a grave mistake to rush too quickly into building an image as a strong alternative to Lawrence Gonzi. Peaking early is as dangerous as leaving it too late. The important thing is to build credibility gradually, one day at a time. In the meantime, let the PN fall into a sense of complacency whilst Joseph spends his initial energies re-inventing and re-invigorating the soft infrastructure of the party. Such calls as “your honeymoon is over – Labour is back in business” should be avoided at this early stage. Joseph must let the facts speak for themselves rather than come across as the bullying type. It does not become him.
Whatever the potential stored inside him, this is a new experience and quite a few banana skins await him. Dancing his way around them is going to demand a lot of support. Support from his family, in showing unity while suffering in silence until they can grow the thickness of skin to withstand repeated attempts for his destruction from those that do not wish him well in the zero sum game of politics. Support from his friends, who may be disappointed that he is not being grateful enough for the help they showed him in the process to get here. Support from neutrals, who should not rush to judge him by the inevitable gaffes that he will commit as he learns to handle the ropes of his new job. Support from his critics, who should not spare him any criticism but should do it with good intent to build him up rather than to destroy him. And even the support from his adversaries and “enemies” in pulling no punches, as this will help him get used quickly to the career he has now chosen.
Joseph should not believe for a single moment that his aspired new way of doing politics will be reciprocated by his political adversaries. Inevitably, they will continue to use all the tricks in the book to crush him and break him before he can build himself up. And as the PN is networked well with other power centres in society, such attacks will come from different sources, not necessarily the evident direct line of the political adversary.
They will criticise the way he speaks, the way he stands, the way he walks, his wardrobe and fashion tastes and all the other minutiae, while downplaying the substance of his political message. He should not be oversensitive in reacting to such criticism or in adopting it, hoping to silence them. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Joseph should make every effort to continue to be himself. Whatever he says or does, he should do it his way, as people can tell the difference between natural and artificial behaviour. People will choose a natural defect over a perfect artificiality every time.
But above all, Joseph needs good advice. The biggest mistake he can make is to surround himself with a court of yes-men, determined to please their leader by giving him only messages that delight him and protect him from the unpleasant realities that he must overcome in order to succeed. Joseph must ensure that he keeps open a spectrum of lines of communications both within and outside the party. He should live his interesting recognition that his critics are his best friends. Indeed they ought to be.
Joseph’s new role will demand a level of decision-making that he has never experienced before. A leader is as good as the decisions he makes. The leader’s decisions need to have a strategic purview that continually reinforces the social democratic doctrine of the party – strategic decisions that help achieve sustainable economic growth through business-friendly policies, coupled with distribution of wealth models that protect those who cannot protect themselves, those who, because of age, sickness or genuine unemployment, cannot participate fairly in the wealth creation process of normal economic activity.
This demands a very fine balance of sound economic posture and socially progressive measures. No 50 per cent reduction in the fuel surcharge at a time of exploding international energy costs, as this is socially regressive and stimulates a waste of scarce resources. No convenient crusades against internationally accepted models and standards like VAT. No pretensions that government can or should be like Santa Klaus, protecting us against international realities of high energy and food costs. Recognition that there are certain problems for which we have no immediate solution and that the burden should be fairly spread to avoid any hardship on those who are already too close to the bread line.
Having these four things does not guarantee Joseph any success. That is something on which he has to work for himself.
* Risk adjusted return is a term used in investment in order to establish a relationship between the return achieved and the risk assumed. So if an investment generates x return with y risk, it is considered better than a similar investment that also produces x return with y+1 risk.
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