The winds of change blow away rhetoric

Jan 29 2008 by Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail

POLITICIANS have lost the art of rhetorical argument as they become more and more concerned about “not scoring an own goal”, according to an academic expert in political language.

Dr Alan Finlayson, a reader in politics at Swansea University, is embarking on a three-year research project into how politicians speak – using party conference speeches from the last 100 years as an evidence base.

Television and a changing political culture have led the current crop of politicians to be over-cautious rather than inspiring, he suggests.

He said, “What politicians have learnt to do over the last 15 years in response to media questioning is to put up a defensive front. They have learnt not to give anything away, at least nothing they can be held accountable for afterwards.

“What they are not doing, then, is making an argument, making a case for why we should agree with what they’re saying. They’re just trying to win, if you like, or not score any own goals.”

Although politicians have always used vivid, snappy phrases – Rudyard Kipling wrote them for PM Stanley Baldwin in the 1930s – today’s sound-bite culture is different, says Dr Finlayson.

“I wonder if there is a difference, if your motivation is to encapsulate your point or say something that will look good on the telly. If you look at Churchill’s ‘iron curtain’, that’s not just a sound-bite, that’s a powerful image for capturing that situation.

“Macmillan’s ‘winds of change’, is a very powerful image that encapsulates the argument expressed in the speech concerned.

“If you look at Tony Blair’s ‘the hand of history’ or ‘education, education, education’, they are more about a certain marketing strategy.”

Politicians are always keen to exploit new technology – webcams are favoured by Tory leader David Cameron – as a means of bypassing traditional media and talking direct to voters. He adds, “But that’s no substitute for thinking about rhetoric in an old-fashioned way”.

Lessons can be learnt from the US, currently in the grip of the primary elections to chose nominees for president, Dr Finlayson says.

“In the United States they teach the art of public oratory extensively in schools, and it is valued,” he said. “They have a lot more set-piece occasions where political figures give speeches…

“The culture more generally is interested in speeches, commentators will assess people on their ability to make speeches.”