Lecture on government relations for master students at NHH in Bergen

1. Government relations
Developing relations to the government: Pitfalls and success factors
Sigurd Klyve Grytten
@grytten

2. Agenda
Understanding of the political system (from the inside)
• The political situation
Understanding of the political logic
• The reflexivity of politics
Developing effective relations to the government
• Pitfalls and success factors
Methodology
Messaging
Conclusions

3. Every political strategy need to start with a deep understanding of
THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

4. The fundamental basics
Always more need than recourses
Battle between interest for the
limited resources available
Economics is the fundament for
politics
The more money you get, the
more political you become

5. Income
Employer- and VAT
sosial security tax
Taxes on income and
Income from the
wealth
Petroleumum sector
Other income

6. Expenses
Transfers to municipalities Health sector
and counties
Payroll and
operating expenses to
the state
Payments to social
security
Other expenses

7. The political situation in Europe is dominated by the
finance crisis – Norway is a different, or…?

8. The challenge for Norwegian economy the
next years
Government debt is
increasing rapidly in Europe
and USA
Reductions in public
spending
Possibility for reduced
economic growth

9. Unemployment in Europe

10. Global growth in GNP

11. Demographics and future income from
the petroleum fund

12. Majority of the population has been
outside the private sector since 1980

13. Voting behavior in relation to private and
public sector in 2009
50 4 7 ,1
4 4 ,6
St at
40
Kommune
2 7 ,8
28 Privat
30
2 3 ,4
20
1 3 ,5 1 3 ,7
1 1 ,5 1 0 ,2 1 0 ,5
8 ,6 8 ,7
10 7 ,8
5 ,6 4 ,5
5 ,4 3 ,9 5 ,5 4 ,3 4 ,6 4 ,8
0
Ap FrP H KrF SP SV V

14. Polarization of Norwegian politics
Ap SV SP H KrF V FrP
64 11 11
30 10 2 40

15. Power is kept in the government

16. How to influence political decisions effectively
EFFECTIVE INFLUENCING

17. The core of effective political influencing
Political influencing is about leveraging yourself amongst other good
purposes.
Political support is not enough,
it has to hurt not to support your interest/ case.

18. Focus on the desired political outcome
Your own position in the political process is just a mean to reach
the desired political outcome.
Your public profile is a mean to empower yourself to influence
effectively, not to influence directly.
Give the decision maker, or stakeholders near the decision
maker, the honor/benefit of the political solution, political idea
you present.

19. Who does it right?

20. ”We need to do something, this is something, therefore we must do it”
(Yes Primeminister, BBC)
THE REFLEXIVITY OF POLITICS

21. What is the reflexivity of politics?
Democratic politics has always been a reflection of the public majority's perception
Media has in the information age the power to interpret the perception of reality, and
trough that the power to steer the policy development. Media replaces class, family and
culture as reference for interpretation.
The reflexive effects between media, public and politics becomes deciding for the policy
development.
Public
Media
Politics

22. Politics is shaped in a room of reflexivity
Politics is developed in a reflexive space – involving
the public, the economy and execution of
authority:
The public governs policy development
• Public focus on weak/wrongful execution of power
results in demands for a new policy – demands for action
• Politics becomes a reflection of how
economic, legal, bureaucratic and political power is
executed and interpreted among the public
The higher the symbolic value, the
stronger the political repercussions

24. Sir Humphrey: Something must be done!
Sir Humphreys political
syllogism*:
1.Something must be done
2.This is something
3.Therefore we must do it
* syllogism (Greek), A type of logical argument first studied by Aristotle, in which one proposition (the conclusion) is
inferred from two others (the premises) of a certain form. In a valid syllogism, the proposition follows as a logical
conclusion from the premises.

25. Consequence:
• There are only 22 percent of the members of Parliament who think it
is the political system who sets the political agenda. 71 percent think
it is the journalists and media who control the public debate.
• As much as 67 percent of the representatives answers that the media
has great or some influence when they are going to decide in a
political case.
• Four percent of the representatives think it is economic interests
which often set the agenda, one present think it is NGOs
(Survey by Respons April 2009)

26. Basic methodology
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

27. Central elements of a political strategy
Decision makers
Message
Media
Scenario
Goal
Analysis
Alliances
Profile
Society

28. Political positioning
High
Leading political
movement
Important but
unknown
Unique and relevant
New political
movement Dinosaur
Low
Low High
Knowledge

29. Decision analysis
Premise providers
Advisors Colleagues
Decision Maker III
Advisors Advisors
Decision Maker II
Decision Maker I
Premise providers Premise providers
Decision
Colleagues
Colleagues
Decision Maker IV
Advisors Colleagues
Premise providers

30. Relation analysis
Political segment
Political segment
Political segment

31. Stakeholder mapping
Influence
Foe Friend

32. How to develop effective political messages?
MESSAGING

33. Political messaging is about…
RELEVANCE

34. Strategic communications: Define the
debate
What separates good communicators from the
mediocre is a conscious awareness of their own
linguistic universe which enables them to define
debates
Cognitive linguistics seeks to understand the nature of
language, how we use it, and why we are
convinced, by exploring the unconscious.
“Framing is about getting a language that fits
your worldview. It is not just language. The
ideas are primary – and the language carries
George Lakoff
those ideas, evokes those ideas.” (George Lakoff Professor i lingvistikk UC
) Berkeley

35. ”Monstermaster” (Monster lines)

36. The most powerful messages is emotional

37. Values: How do I
feel about it?
Subjective advantages:
What does this mean
for me?
Functional meaning: How does it
work?
Function: What is it?

38. How to build strong government relations
CONCLUSIONS

39. 1. Analyze what you would like to achieve
• Does it require an amendment?
• Is it an ideological issue?
• Is it a smaller concrete case?

40. 2. Know the people
• Who is it necessary to influence?
• Where do they stand within their own party?
• What is their position within their own party, and the government?
• What do they burn for?

41. 3. Don’t under estimate the Parliament
• The parliamentary groups to the governing party's have significant influence
in the government.
• Central MPs has easy access, and is listened too by the Ministers
• The Groups, and the MPs, do sometimes have a different agenda then the
government

42. 4. The opposition is useful with a majority government too
• The opposition has power when it appears with attractive solutions for the voters.
• No government can in the long run live with a situation where the opposition appears
with more attractive solutions than the government.
• The opposition has power to enlighten issues which harms the government
The opposition is the next government

43. A B C D
5. Show your alternative
• Very often we see that various interests criticize the government without having any concrete
alternatives to the current policies
• A clear success factor is to be clear and specific on what you want. You need to develop a
holistic alternative:
• It increases the likelihood that the government takes implements your
alternative in its policy
• Alternatively, it can be the basis for a prolonged pressure by the
opposition, who always are looking for well considered and specific alternatives
to the policies of the government.

44. 6. Know the political situation and the political
reality
• What is the political situation in the government, within the opposition, in the
various political parties and between the government and Parliament?
• What issues is dominating the media?
• What issues has the potential to move voters?
• What arguments will be valid within the rhetorical reality?

45. Hvordan påvirke lokalt
7. Use local networks – Norwegian politics is
more local than national
 Local politicians
 Local organizations
 Local spokespersons
 Local media
 Local business