Communication that shifts power

Communication that shifts power

TANKER

THE FIRST-PERSON GOVERNMENT
13.03.2010

"I’d like to, but the Ministry wouldn’t", was a heartfelt sigh from a former minister in the Norwegian Parliament. He could not get his Ministry to agree with him, and openly admitted as much. The anecdote is a tempting parallel when we analyze a new, political phenomenon of language: The tendency for Ministers to increasingly describe Government policy in first person.

– "I" have made a proposal to Parliament. – "I" have revised the Law. The normal way of course, would be to say the Government did this, or the Ministry did that. This way, the totality of a cabinet’s policy, and its image, are reinforced. When ministers refer to themselves, they build only their own self-image instead.

The minister is always at the center of his or her personal universe and powerful through office. But many mistake the phenomenon for something else: They believe they enjoy great personal respect. The fact of the matter is that the more the minister speaks in first person, the more he downplays the issues. Whenever one can refer to a collegium, be it the cabinet, the ministry, or the party itself, one adds weight and importance to the message. When instead the point of view in question refers to an individual of greater or smaller political legitimacy or stature, the initiative is easily deflated. - I must rein in the Budget, says Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen. – I can’t afford any more elite sport, says Minister of Culture and Sport, Anniken Huitfeldt. – I’m all for the railroad, maintains Minister of Communications, Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa. Many more are on this list.

I believe the red-green coalition would benefit from a cultivating their language. Lose the self-aggrandizing first person form, and employ more collective expressions such as "we", and "the Government". That is a Government decision!

Gunnar Mathisen