Time for a Ministry of Emotional Management?

In a perceptive article this week in the Basque newspaper Deia, José Ramón Blazquez observes that most of our decisions are based on unconscious feelings, as consumer studies suggest. If this is the case, then surely our political and economic decisions follow the same pattern. So, he asks, why has no government ever set up a Ministry for Emotional Management? Isn't it vital for our governing institutions to understand popular sentiment and know how to respond to it?

He suggests, sensibly enough, that where heightened public emotions are concerned  there are better ways for a government to react than chasing people through the streets and hitting them with nightsticks. Such responses, which the ruling Popular Party in Spain seems to take for granted, can only make things worse. Similarly, legislation which imposes severer limits on public demonstrations, as we have seen during the last year not only in Spain but also in Russia, can only increase public feelings of frustration and discontent.

Well, in practice I daresay that public feelings only really come into the democratic equation at election times and that what we call Campaign Management is no more nor less than Emotional Management in disguise. In between elections, naturally, the need for such analysis appears to fade away.

In my fantasy novel King Abba the ruling Rational and Scientific Party has established that there can be only one rational and scientific answer to all problems, and therefore the basis for alternative viewpoints no longer exists. As here, where politics and science get together, I am afraid the danger is immense. Feelings and emotions have no part to play in this scenario. And I fear we are already well along this road at the level of European administration.

 With what emotional consequences? Blazquez warns that feelings of frustration and injustice that are unattended to do not disappear, they only fester and turn to  hatred. This is a warning that all governments, both east and west, need to hear. Recent events in Boston show the baffling path down which we must travel when there is emotional ignorance in government.

CJM
May 2013

King Abba free download

There are two days left of a five day free download of my novel King Abba, which is available from the Amazon Kindle store. It is a science fiction fantasy with a difference, for both young and old.

So far the book has five star reviews from all reviewers.

Reviews and testimonials, along with a blurb and background to the book, can be found on: www.kingabba.com

Also a first post in what I hope will become a dialogue with readers.

CJM
April 12, 2013

Mrs T and her T-party

I remember a lawyer friend recalling the extraordinary changes that came about through Mrs Thatcher's demolition of traditional practices and restrictions throughout the professional and financial world.

"She told us to go out and make money," he said, "and by golly, we did."

 Only now do we see the terrible and inevitable outcome of so much liberalisation as market-led forces took us over the cliff, and continue to do so today. And equally now, we see the second and third generation effects of chopping down the nationalised industries with their malpractices and utter disregard for careful economic and financial management. Could she have brought about those changes without the cruel ruthlessness she showed towards the mining and steel communities? That is still the real debate. Could she have sought gentler programmes of gradual reform?

I remember a colleague who had worked at British Steel before privatisation, telling me about the theft and pilfering, the corrupt and domineering union bosses, the intimidation when strikes were called at a moment's notice. "I'm all right, Jack" was the reality of the day, and were the unions going to allow their own destructive and almost absolute powers to be taken away from them lightly? I don't think so.

And yet, and yet... was there really" no such thing as society" as Mrs T was oft quoted as saying? In fact, in the original context, this was followed by "There are individual men and women, and there are families."

So yes, there were individuals, and we were all told to get out and make money. And many did. But for those families with no jobs, breadwinners and support services, the harsh reality was all too different. What became of all the grocers that had to shut in the impoverished mining towns? Did she ever wonder about that, given her Grantham grocery childhood?

What happened was that Mrs T took what really was, in its fashion, a society, one where a policeman was still your friend, kind of, not someone who bashed you on the head from behind a riot shield, and many institutions, though fossilised and out of touch, still represented values of an earlier age that all looked up to -- and she created a land of everyone for himself.

I personally believe this has caused Britain lasting harm and we will have to work hard to repair or replace the iconic institutions that have been progressively devalued over the last forty years.The NHS was the last of them. The other poor shells of governmental and financial bodies have long ago given up all claim to respect.

CJM
April 11, 2013

Messi magic -- nail-biting stuff

I'm far from being the only one to say it, but the difference was palpable when Messi, still recovering from his hamstring injury, came on the pitch in the 62nd minute of the quarter finals match with Paris Saint Germain last night. It was like an injection of prozac into his depressed teammates. And a relief to see La Pulga in action after a first half on the bench in which he must have chewed off half his fingernails in frustration.

He didn't have to do a lot and in his inimitable style walked about calmly till the opportunities were delivered. But just with his presence the Barca team which (with the exception of Iniesta) had laboured and misfired during the first half, was galvanised into a demonstration of the slick passing flow which is its trademark. Working together, as they do best, it was still Messi who initiated a path through the penalty area mêlée to Pedro's boot which finished off the winning attack.

With the two away goals collected in Paris, it was enough, and Barca are through to the semis in another record breaking achievement.

Wonderful to watch...

CJM
April 2013

The end of mystery?

Where will it all end? I asked at Christmas on the occasion of the popular protest against Pope Benedict’s denial of the presence of the donkey at the manger.

Well, now we know where it ended. In the first resignation of a pope in hundreds of years.

Popes don’t resign. Such was the common reaction of shock to the event, taking all by surprise. But there was an aspect to this resignation which I haven’t seen commented on, and which gives it a special singularity. Here is the critical part of the Pope’s speech, made on the occasion of a gathering on February 11 during a canonisation ceremony:

Fratres carissimi

… Conscientia mea iterum atque iterum coram Deo explorata ad cognitionem certam perveni vires meas ingravescente aetate non iam aptas esse ad munus Petrinum aeque administrandum.

Bene conscius sum hoc munus secundum suam essentiam spiritualem non solum agendo et loquendo exsequi debere, sed non minus patiendo et orando. Attamen in mundo nostri temporis rapidis mutationibus subiecto et quaestionibus magni ponderis pro vita fidei perturbato ad navem Sancti Petri gubernandam et ad annuntiandum Evangelium etiam vigor quidam corporis et animae necessarius est, qui ultimis mensibus in me modo tali minuitur, ut incapacitatem meam ad ministerium mihi commissum bene administrandum agnoscere debeam.

Dearest brothers

… After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the barque of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.

The bold text here is to draw attention to this quite remarkable statement, which presents a lack of strength as a reason for no longer being able to fulfil the papal ministry. This seems at odds with the Christian tradition, in which no man’s strength would ever be adequate to fulfil the enormity of this task in the world. The often declared perception was that such a task could only be carried out with the help of divine strength. By reducing the papal office to the level of a human task, to be achieved with human strength, the pope has, at a blow, taken away a mystery.

As with the humble donkey, no longer present at the manger, so with the divine distillation of an unworldly office. One myth after another, fails and falls under the bleak analysis of an executive, academic mind.

CJM March 13, 2013

Spanish practices 2: What never? Well, hardly ever!

This delightful chorus from HMS Pinafore sums up the pressure you're under when your crew don't quite believe you...

Captain.
I am never known to quail
At the fury of a gale,
And I'm never, never sick at sea!

Chorus.
What, never?

Captain.
No, never!

Chorus.
What, never?

Captain.
Hardly ever!

Compare this to the situation this week that the Spanish caption Mariano Rajoy found himself in, on having to stand up beside Angela Merkel and answer journalists' questions in Berlin, 'visibly nervous' according to at least one present. Only a few days before in Spain, at an emergency meeting of his party's senior managers, he had denied categorically being involved with any dubious payments in the Bárcenas affair, announcing his "Es falso" denial. With the severe maternal figure of Merkel at his side, how can he do anything but tell the truth? Put on the defensive, he prevaricates:

"Todo lo que se refiere a mí y que figura allí y a algunos compañeros míos de partido que figuran allí, no es cierto, salvo alguna cosa que es lo que han publicado los medios de comunicación".

 So now, instead of 'Es falso,' we have 'it's not certain, except for a thing or two published in the press.' (My italics)

Interestingly the word 'prevaricate' in English means to be evasive. In Spanish, 'prevaricar' means 'to pervert the course of justice', exactly what Britain's ex-ministerChris Huhne has admitted to this week after long denials.

Assertions, accusations, denials, counter-denials: it seems this culebrón has a long way to go. And Mr Rajoy is losing fast the little credibility that was remaining to him.

CJM

Bilbao, February 2013

Below: A Spanish view of Chris Huhne's downfall as a consequence of lying over a traffic offence. The laughing faces shown are all well known figures in public life, from the monarchy downwards. Nearly all of them have been touched by recent scandals.

‘Signs of rot’, or just Spanish practices?

 Guilty or not guilty? Months of denial, then at the last moment, as all the doors of escape close one by one, a change of plea and an admission of guilt. This has often been the pattern of events in British political life, the latest example being ex-cabinet minister, Chris Huhne, admitting finally that he lied over a driving offence and “perverted the course of justice”. It seems even his own son had been telling him from the very start to own up.

In Britain, at least, political careers rarely survive the revelation of a lie: John Profumo had no future after lying to the House of Commons over his relationship with Christine Keeler. Jonathan Aitken’s famous “sword of truth” with which he proclaimed his innocence over allegations of shady arms deals, turned into what one TV headline called “The Dagger of Deceit” after his eventual conviction for perjury.

 Now the credibility of politicians across Europe seems to be in serious doubt, as accusations and suspicions stack up in France, Greece, Italy and Spain. With Chris Huhne awaiting a likely judicial sentence this week in London, his lie exposed, we may cast a thought towards the head of the Spanish government, Mariano Rajoy, and his “Es falso” declaration of the last week. This forthright denial came in response to allegations that he, along with many other senior members of his Partido Popular, received undeclared payments from a secret fund administered by an ex-treasurer of the party, Luís Bárcenas, who himself is accused of having secreted millions of euros in a Swiss bank account.

 As the Financial Times puts it bluntly, ‘This bombshell could hardly have detonated at a worse time, with a population facing record unemployment and unprecedented austerity, and already infuriated by a string of corruption scandals … ” The most damning statement of the paper’s editorial is to declare that the country is fighting its way through a major economic crisis “at a time when nearly all its institutions, from the monarchy to the judiciary, exhibit signs of rot.” (FT, February 3, 2013)

Looking through a recent Sunday edition of El País ‒ the newspaper leading the way in exposing the Bárcenas affair ‒ you could see pages 8 to 20 of the domestic coverage dedicated entirely to reporting on one financial scandal after another. Soon afterwards, the supposedly incriminating ‘Bárcenas papers’ filled an entire Sunday supplement which sold out rapidly. It seems that political journalism in Spain has been reduced to uncovering corruption after corruption, all ongoing for months, if not years, and all referred to in shorthand: el caso X, el caso Y, el caso Z … One gets the impression that the abuse of public position in order to line one’s pockets has for a very long time been an accepted perk of the job.

Institutionalised abuse of a similar kind, in the union-dominated newspaper print world of Fleet Street, used to be called “Spanish practices” for no obvious reason at the time. But such abuse became so engrained and customary that it led to the total collapse of the system. The abuse rendered the institutions unworkable and unsustainable.

This indeed seems to be where Spain has got to with its own Spanish practices. Writing in the same edition, political consultant José Ignacio Torreblanca says: “The political pact between elected and electors which sustains our democracy, has broken, and as a result, is unworkable.” And he calls for a major overhaul of public thinking, mindset and customs in order for the country to face up collectively to the challenge.

            It does seem that public perception in Spain of their elected representatives has reached an all time low in the democratic period since the 1960s. Rajoy and his government currently enjoy only a 23 percent approval rating. A recent survey from Metroscopia suggests that 73 percent of the general public think the country is on the verge of breakdown through unemployment and poverty. 97 percent say that they have no confidence in the political institutions.

After six years of economic hardship, tens of thousands of young people are desperate to leave the country and find employment elsewhere in Europe, dozens of local town halls are bankrupt and unable to pay their employees, and banks are repossessing thousands of homes in a general collapse of the housing market.

This seems to be economics, and politics, gone mad. Austerity at work? No, austerity that doesn’t work. The social cost is enormous and will last for a generation or more. One can only hope that out of the impending seismic shift will come a new order and a new pact of trust and understanding between government and people.

CJM

Bilbao, February, 2013

The caption below announces: 'A British ex-minister resigns after lying over a traffic fine.' The laughing faces are a broad selection of Spanish politicians, bankers and other prominent people in public life, including the royal family. Nearly all of those shown here have been touched in some way by various recent scandals.

 

Clouds over the bay

Breath of the ocean
woven by the wind's combing
brush strokes in the sky.

CJM
Gorliz, December 2012