I digress … thoughts on fish & the environment
Lobbying is hard because you’ll often start off with high hopes of a strong case and find it whittled down. This is an important, if somewhat painful process to go through. If you just go out the door, after a liberating exercise in group think (usually in an internal meeting), you’ll find yourself confronted with … Read more
More often than not, you know the outcome of a vote in the Committee or Plenary before a single vote is cast. When you see the results of the vote in Committee or Plenary, you are seeing the results of an agreement that was reached over the last two weeks before the vote. Few votes … Read more
There are tried and tested ways a policy entrepreneurial Commission official can get an important proposal adopted without the hierarchy being any of the wiser. Here are some of the most effective techniques I know: Give the proposal a long and technical title. When dealing with a chemical, use the technical name and stick … Read more
In lobbying, I often hear people use the phrase, “We just need to educate them.” Somehow if you educate officials and politicians they’ll agree with you The phrase sends a chill down my spine. First, the phase conjures up the ideas of education that went out of fashion after the Khmer Rouge. See above. I … Read more