Here are some tried and tested tactics to help bring back a supporter who wandered off.
Getting a MEP back on side
Sometimes an MEP may go off the political reservation and ignore the national political voting line.
How can you get them back on track?
Idea 1: I’ve found a phone call back home to the Minister’s team/shadow Minister’s team and flag that one of their MEPs is ignoring their policy/voting line will often lead to a phone call to the MEP the same day, and instructions to come back on side.
This works well around selection time.
Idea 2: I’ve always found getting a fellow Party member and ally to the MEP back home to raise the issue with them directly effective. Nothing seems to work better than an old political friend and ally highlighting the importance of an issue to their elected MEP. I remember an issue when a good friend said, one weekend, to an influential MEP, “everybody on the doorstop is talking about Issue X, we need to act against it”. The MEP came back with a renewed interest in the otherwise obscure issue.
Idea 3: Most politicians will read a political newspaper and weekly journal of record. If your issue is covered sympathetically in that journal of record, preferably by an influential journalist, you’ll find politicians coming on your side.
How to get a government on side
You’ll spend a lot of time trying to get Ministers and governments to support your issue.
Idea 5: If you have a friend whose meeting their old school friend, the Prime Minister/President, that weekend, see if they’ll raise an issue. I’ve found it an effective way to get a decision going your way.
The Prime Minister/President can usually overrule an individual Minister.
An alternative is an advisor on the issue to the Prime Minister/President. They can often change events.
Idea 6: If your Minister decides to throw their support in with another country, and backtrack on previous political commitments, here is something that I’ve found can get them back on board.
Get hold of the new joint position with the other country. Take that paper to the national political paper of record and see if their political editor will phone the government to comment on the change of position. You now hope that the Minister’s press team deny such a position exists. When this happens, the political editor will be upset they’ve been lied to. They’ve got the paper. The story will run the next day, and the government will likely be forced to rip up the deal, and publically commit to their original position.
Idea 7: Celebrity backing, for reasons I don’t fully understand, often pushes a Minister to change track and back the cause.
How to get around officials
Sometimes officials will try and block what you want.
Here are some ways around this.
Idea 8: If a Minister invites you a press conference, say in Luxembourg, realise that national civil servants may try and block you from getting through the security. This is what you can do. Take the personal phone number of the Minister and their political aide, and when the official who was meant to meet you does not turn up, just message the Minister and aide. The official will mysteriously appear.
Idea 9: Sometimes, a Head of Cabinet won’t want their Commissioner fighting the good fight on your side. What can you do? The best way around them is to find out when they are on holiday and then push events when they are away. You can get more movement in a week than in a year.
Some universal rules
Idea 10: A lot of the time, people will vote against someone else, or back them, just because they are of a longstanding animosity/friendship. Use this. These ancient bonds are more persuasive than any position you bring to the table!
Idea 11: Bring a god to the table. If you have a rock star, celebrity scientist, or world-respected expert to whom a political/policy community want to meet, bring them to the table. You’ll get more people of importance in the room with little work than you thought possible. Make sure the event is all about the god you brought to meet the assembled masses. The goodwill will sprinkle on you, and you’ll find people who make decisions supporting you in the days and weeks to come.