Master the words and you can set the agenda
On Parliament’s first day back last week there was an interesting exchange between ACT leader David Seymour and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about the difference between ‘‘foundational’’ and ‘‘transformational’’ change.
He was not able to get (to him anyway) a satisfactory answer about the nature of the difference – if indeed there is one.
Words matter, as George Orwell made clear in his essay Politics and the English Language, published in 1946: ‘‘Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.’’
All governments use political language of some kind, despite the usual pledges about being honest and transparent. This Government’s current favourite mantra is variations on the phrase, ‘‘we are taking the time to get it right’’, which purports to explain why it hasn’t acted more quickly on particular issues.
Ardern used it in relation to the long-promised ban on gay conversion therapy, and minister David Parker used just those words when challenged about the promised reforms to the RMA laws. He said the matters involved were ‘‘incredibly complex’’ and ‘‘time will be taken to get it right’’.
So, everyone must be patient until the Government is satisfied it has got it ‘‘right’’, whatever that might mean. The phrase has become an all-purpose excuse for not acting quickly.
Of course, no-one wants a government to get it wrong, but the phrase turns a grumble about a delay into an answer about the quality of the solution.
The real point is that the answer given (getting it right) does not address the issue raised (the delay in doing so). It addresses another issue entirely – one chosen by the responder.
In a classic episode of Yes, Prime Minister,
Bernard the hapless private secretary is doorstepped by a bunch of media people and trapped into making some unfortunate remarks which will be reported as criticising Hacker the PM. He confesses all, and Hacker gives him this advice about talking to the media. ‘‘If you have nothing to say, say nothing. Better still, have something to say and say it no matter what they ask. If they persist, say I don’t think that is the question, and then you make another statement of your own.’’ In short: use language to set your agenda.
In the time of the Lange/Douglas government, the late Bevan Burgess was press secretary to Roger Douglas, the minister of finance. Burgess was a master of the beguiling phrase. He always described the government’s monetary policy stance as ‘‘firm and consistent’’. Actually it was neither of those things.
National, then in opposition and searching for new policy, produced a discussion paper in which its monetary policy stance was described as ‘‘moderate and stable’’. I recall asking Jim Bolger, National’s then leader, what was the difference between ‘‘firm and consistent’’ and ‘‘moderate and stable’’. He replied that National would be ‘‘more flexible’’, as if that explained anything.
Slippery linguistics should not be confused with spin, although they share many similar features. Former minister Peter Dunne gave a very good example last week, pointing to the Government’s trumpeting of MedSafe’s approval of the Covid-19 vaccine. His point was that MedSafe follows and adopts the work done by its Australian equivalent, which in turn follows the lead of the US, British and European Union medicine approval bodies.
All of these had approved the Pfizer vaccine, so rather than being a breakthrough as the Government touted it, in his view as a former associate minister of health and one familiar with the approval process for new medicines, any other outcome from the MedSafe process would have been unthinkable.
We are duped when those in power turn something ordinary into something quite remarkable – and expect our admiration and gratitude as well – which is what happened here.
Another common trick is what was taught to me as ‘‘The Jew of Malta’’ excuse. In Marlowe’s play of that name a priest is upbraided by the King of Malta for his persistent inability to keep his vow of chastity. He replies: ‘‘My Lord it was long time ago. It was in another country and besides the wench is dead.’’ Which is to distance oneself from the events, dismiss the concerns, and downplay any impacts, without actually denying any of the criticisms.
In the end, language is about power and the exercise of it. Remember Lewis Carroll in Through
the Looking Glass: ‘‘When I use a word,’’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’’
‘‘The question is,’’ said Alice, ‘‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’’
‘‘The question is,’’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘‘which is to be master – that’s all.’’
We are duped when those in power turn something ordinary into something quite remarkable ...