How to get the law you want (during the flood of proposals)

Once a proposal is tabled, the momentum for change is usually unstoppable. You need to produce solutions to respond to the desire for change. If the case for change has got so far that the Commission has tabled change, it is going to be tough to stop it. Providing workable solutions is the only way to go.

You are in a political process. This is no longer about ideas or science but the rough and tumble of political decision-making. It is about cutting workable deals. If you can’t move beyond your academic ivory tower, scientific lab, or public policy think tank, you are in for a rude awakening. Better accept where you are.

It helps to have real work legislative experience in the arena. Idealists and debutants may get shocked about the realities of getting a law through in Brussels. Over the years, I’ve found that the gameplays that work in DC, Paris or Berlin don’t work in Brussels.

If you want to persuade lawmakers, you’ll use emotion, along with more dispassionate evidence. If you have a problem with that, this is not the arena for you.

You need real evidence to make your case. If you have done your job well, the Commission will have used your evidence to help design their proposal. If you are coming to the table late in the day after the key decisions have been made, you are wasting your time.

You’ll have an established campaign model that works for promoting your interests. If your playbook does not work, ditch it. If it has not worked before, get rid of it. If you continue with it, don’t be surprised that it fails again. Look around and see what works and copy it.

You’ll have well-developed systems to agree on and execute your campaign. If you can only agree on your internal position and suggested amendments until after the Council Working Group has agreed their position on your Articles and the Rapparoteyr has presented their Report, your system is not working.

It really helps to have a well-respected brand name. If your organisation is trusted by decision-makers and politicians your job is easy. If your organisation is not trusted, your odds of getting what you want are low from the start.

Winning is a long-term project. Gaining trust takes many years to establish, and it can be lost in a second. I’ve seen that loss happen and it is grim. It takes decades to win trust.

You need to deal with political reality. Today, governments are dealing with the impacts of the war in Ukraine, inflation and energy prices. It’s going to be hard for your issue to get their attention.

You need to be comfortable re-framing your issue to the person/people you are trying to persuade. Jonah Berger in The Catalyst puts it “We are so focused on our desired outcome that we’re consumed with how we can push people in that direction. But along the way, we tend to forget about the person whose mind we’re trying to change. And what’s stopping them” (p.10)

If you are serious about winning, there is one thing you can do. Think about the values of the person/people you are trying to persaude and re-word your position so that it speaks to them. Most advocacy seems to be some variation on religious sects knocking on your door and hoping that you will invite them in and they can convert you to their beliefs. Whilst I am sure this model works to some extent, the success rate is undoubtedly low.

It is important to live in the present. Don’t get diverted by some sleight of hand by some official or politician 10 years ago. You need to focus on getting the law you want, not what happened in the past.

Don’t take things personally. If you are easily offended by tough questions or lack of belief by others in what you say, don’t do this work for a living.  Ryan Holiday reminds us to act like stoics and realise that ego is the enemy.

Get ready to handle rejection. You are not going to get everything you want. If you are someone who throws tantrums when they don’t get what they want. this is not the business for you.

You’ll need to be able to work across political divides. The voting coalitions in the EU, both in the EP and the Council, require you to be comfortable with varied political traditions. If you can only work with your own Party and Nationality, your chances of success are slim.

It is useful to remember that on a good day 99% of decision-makers don’t care about your issue. Don’t be offended by that. They have too many issues on their agenda and head space for a few. Work on making your issue something that deserves their attention.

Nearly every legislative or regulatory issue I have worked on has a 10-year history that explains why the matter has been taken up in a new law. You can’t be hibernating for the last 10 year, hoping above all reason that the issue was just going to go away.

When the issue gets tabled, don’t hide. If you hide or give the appearance of hiding, you’ll not be trusted, and you’ll at best be politically ignored. More likely is that everything you did not want will get adopted. Politicians and officials reason that if you don’t have the courage of your convictions to stand up in public, and make your case and defend your position, your case is weak. Whether this is right or wrong does not matter, it is political reality.

You need to be able to explain your position to a 5-year-old, or your intended audience, clearly and concisely. If you can’t do this, and many can’t, your case is lost.

Work backwards. Once a proposal is out the door, the sequence of what happens next is clear. The timetable may vary, but you need to be ready ahead of time with the material, events, and speakers to promote your case. Many good campaigns come down to good project management.

Don’t get bogged down in internal meetings. One of the more successful campaigns I worked on came about because most people were on holiday. This allowed a colleague and I from another organisation to do what needed to be done to get the Commission to reverse its position.