Forums » Smalltalk » AMA: Political advisor for an incumbent government

Hello there!

You know when the politicians promise to do X, Y and Z? How does that actually come about, how can it get implemented, and how do you (try to) ensure it's not illegal, harmful, or in breach of whatever law at hand?
That's what I do for a living, working as a political advisor. I know a lot about energy policy and the EU, but my background is quite broad.

I'm not the person up on the big stage, giving speeches or whatever, but rather one of the people working behind closed doors to develop policy and implement the wishes of the secretary of state, prime minister, or whatever you may have. If you have any questions about how this works 'in real life', maybe as research for a new plot or novel, don't hesitate to reach out ⭐️

*I'm obviously not gonna state where I work, nor am I going to start a political discussion, but I will say that I work for an administration currently in government.

This is SO COOL!

How often do you find that politicians try to do things that are either very difficult or not possible to achieve within the limits of the powers of their office? Are they mostly aware of the limits in a general sense?


Do you ever have to have difficult conversations about what's realistic and feasible?

Are you able to confirm that it's an incumbent government somewhere in the EU? That influences my questions a lot. You seem to hint at it, but don't say.

That is a really good question! Sorry if it gets a bit rambly, but it's an interesting topic, haha.

I think there is definitely a lot of realisation happening once a newly elected politician actually has to 'get to work' - especially if they are in government. They start to realise all the barriers and the steps that a proposal needs to go through before you can make something happen in real life. It's often easy to criticise the government for not doing things quickly enough, which is definitely true in many cases, but it is also a risk to do things too fast - that's where laws get sloppy and have unintended consequences. That's something we've discussed a lot internally. I think, as a general trend, the pace of politics have sped up significantly over the last 40 years, and this adds pressure on the administration to deliver quick results.

As for the difficult conversations: All the freaking time 🤠 It can get frustrating for everyone involved when politicians have big dreams and ambitions that cannot be achieved "just like that" in the amount of time they want. But my job is to carve out the details and communicate this to them, and their job is to set the direction and fight for their ideas - they can't be expected to be aware of every single technical detail. And as long as everyone is aware of their roles, it works out. Personally, I do find it incredibly annoying when politicians in charge blame their own staff or civil service, as we spend a lot of time servicing (and often protecting) said politician.

Yes, it is I've also worked for the EU's administration (if you can call it that) and very briefly with the US government on some specific topics

That's a pretty nice job, all things considered. But I can't imagine how stressful it can be sometimes for you. I have a few questions, I hope you don't mind.

1) Do you ever face the public or do you only deal with the government itself?

2) A political appointee or a public office?

3) Do you enjoy your profession?

4) Do you struggle with balancing your work and personal life, and is it a very demanding career?

Best Regards

lowlaville

Thank you so much for this answer!

Absolutely fascinating stuff. I'm sure that the reality of what it takes to get things done could be pretty frustrating for a new politician. It sounds like you and your colleagues work really hard to keep things moving and to me that underlines the importance of career government staff.

Would you ever want to run for a public office yourself?

Yeah, I think "nice but stressful" is actually a decent summary, haha! Thank you for the questions ☺️

1) Do you ever face the public or do you only deal with the government itself?

I face the public sometimes, yes. My main external contacts are foreign governments and embassies, but we also speak to a ton of stakeholders (industry, NGOs, citizens) - especially if we are developing or negotiating new policies. My policy area is more internationally focused, though, so I don't have daily contact with citizens, as some of my colleagues have. I've once seen a mailbox purely dedicated to answering questions about labelling requirements for household products, such as washing machines lol

2) A political appointee or a public office?

Public office. I think this depends a lot on what country you're working in, but even in those without many political appointees, network is still a factor when you go for more high-level positions (in my personal opinion). In either case, it's not always people with good leadership potential that gets promoted, haha, but I suppose that's not a unique problem.

3) Do you enjoy your profession?

Yes, most of the time. I work with super dedicated people, I get to travel a lot!, and I honestly feel that I am contributing to a positive change. I also have enough freedom in my position to initiate things or come up with proposals that are taken seriously. I like collaborating with other countries and go through intense periods of negotiations, where it feels like a crash course in Problem-Solving Level Extreme, haha. You also get very unique experiences, like getting a police escort or have a beer with the prime minister of some random country that you've bumped into at a dinner.

Obviously, it can also get super intense in a less fun way. Major geopolitical events over the last two years and war in Europe have changed a lot of things, and the energy crisis really took its toll. I had to stop watching the news outside of my work, because it felt like I was just going through a haze. As for the workplace itself, we generally have a very high turnover because of work pressure. I've also experienced politicians in charge that were definitely less fun to work for. One of my previous "employers" had a habit of turning up at 5 AM in the office and expect his advisors to do the same.

4) Do you struggle with balancing your work and personal life, and is it a very demanding career?

Yeah, I think there's a disclaimer somewhere that you're expected to let work take priority over other responsibilities at certain peak times in my contract. I'm still trying to figure it out, especially since I've seen many other colleagues burn out. It's also interesting that most people I work with do not have children - or have a partner staying home full time. I'm also not sure I'd do this for my whole career - people will often switch to less demanding jobs in the field once they have gained enough traction and network in their career. Like a cushy consulting job somewhere

Yeah, a lot of people have a bit of a "come to Jesus moment", but over time, you learn to accept that it is impossible to make everyone happy and there is no magic solution. Not even if you try to make it appear faster 😌
It certainly does help having people on board with lots of experience, just like it can be good to get some fresh perspectives in. Unfortunately, we do have quite a high turnover rate, so the experienced ones are very much appreciated.

My gut instinct would be a massive no to public office, haha! I think I do better behind the scenes. Besides, I don't think I have enough charisma to get elected nor would I have any patience for annoying people. What I would like is getting to set the direction and lead, meet with other decision-makers, decide and launch new initiatives, etc, but you do most of that anyway in this position (with a mandate from the elected official). We do cover lots of meetings that the politician either don't want to take or don't have time for, ranging from ministers and state secretaries to ambassadors and CEOs.

I entirely understand what you mean. Haha. The line between Public/Political offices tend to blur at the top levels. But I also understand that sometimes the public perception of things is not entirely justified or accurate. I'm a firm believer that life puts you where you need to be, whether that is to experience, absorb something from it or as a lesson, whatever it might be.

I am dying to know what the US specific topics were