Comments
Some speeches matter more than others
2009-03-02 12:04:45
At a q and a I did last week, someone asked me what made Tony Blair nervous. 'Big set piece speeches,' I replied, instinctively.
I've thought about it a bit more since, and I think the instincts were right. My diaries record several instances of him saying, before Budget debates in Opposition, or Queen's Speech debates in Government, that if there was anything more nerve-wracking, he had yet to find out what it was.
I remember when he was due to speak to the French National Assembly in March 1998. I don't think I had ever seen him so nervous. Partly that was because he had decided to have the speech translated so that he could deliver it in French. But it was also because, no matter how experienced a politician may be, there is something particularly challenging about making speeches to a group of all-party politicians from another country.
There is also something about the great historic political venues, particularly when surrounded by ritual and tradition, not to mention the booming drums that beat in rhythm as he walked towards the Paris chamber, that cranks up the pressure any big speeech brings with it. It was the same when he spoke to the joint houses of the US Congress, even if he had a lot more experience by then. The little nervous tics that enter any speech-writing process, not to mention in the immediate run up to the speech with all the last-minute checks and concerns about protocol, get exaggerated as the tension builds.'Is my tie straight?' 'Is there water by the podium?' These are probably no more than subconscious expressions of the scale of the event.
It is impossible to be in the place where Gordon Brown will be on Wednesday, as he stands to follow Churchill, Attlee, Thatcher and Blair, and become the fifth British Prime Minister to address both Houses, without feeling both the history of the setting, and the daunting nature of the moment.
In my weekly email to supporters of Go Fourth, the campaign for a Labour fourth term, I urged them to try to watch the speech in full. Even though it will be extensively covered on the news, there is something about these big moments that for a proper understanding requires the whole event to be followed. Reading the text is not enough either. You need to hear the tone, see the reaction, feel the mood and above all try to grasp the bigger argument that political leaders always try to have in their more important speeches. It comes at an important moment for both of our countries.
In common with every country in the world, the shared agenda is the economic situation and the need to make sense of what has happened in the past as the world tries to shape a better economic future. It would be hard, and indeed inappropriate, for Gordon to be overtly political. But I think that what is emerging from the choices being made by Labour in Britain, and the new Democrat Administration in the States, is a shared progressive agenda to lead the world out of recession into recovery, with the values of the centre left being more relevant to the new economic order to follow than the values of the right which to a large extent got us into this mess in the first place.
When Tony Blair spoke to Congress, the backdrop was Britain and America standing together in the face of international terrorism, and two wars being fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. What tomorrow is about is America and Britain standing together in the face of an economic challenge that is global in scale and will require a global response to match.
How Gordon pitches that argument, and the response it generates, is more than a question of speechcraft. It really matters. Given how much, he would not be human if the nerves weren't jangling a little. But once that first warm growl of appreciation comes back at him from the packed benches, those nerves will settle, then what counts is the history, the argument, and the specific proposals he puts forward.
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Hate the Mail, love ObamaPublish date: 2009-05-10 10:04:00
Burnley 1 Reading 0 - a biased reportPublish date: 2009-05-09 21:26:32
MPs expenses - time for party leaders to meet againPublish date: 2009-05-09 09:50:19
Should happiness replace prosperity as national goal?Publish date: 2009-05-08 08:43:23
Musings from a sleepless nightPublish date: 2009-05-07 07:33:49
Darren Fletcher - an injustice that has to be rightedPublish date: 2009-05-06 09:52:29
Maggie's legacy not as great as she thinksPublish date: 2009-05-05 08:33:02
Here's hoping Cardiff is metaphor for CameronPublish date: 2009-05-04 09:38:30
More Mr Benn and Co pleasePublish date: 2009-05-03 10:03:00
Going Fourth with JPPublish date: 2009-05-02 18:25:41
Journalism - print first, think laterPublish date: 2009-05-02 09:10:01
In praise of two poetsPublish date: 2009-05-01 10:26:36
JP hits the road againPublish date: 2009-04-29 18:52:11
My night with Eddie IzzardPublish date: 2009-04-29 10:53:25
Explaining the 50p top tax ratePublish date: 2009-04-28 09:22:53
George Best and Martin McGuinnessPublish date: 2009-04-27 09:02:35
Cameron confused over indepdendence and impartialityPublish date: 2009-04-26 12:20:56
Guide ro Marathon running part 2Publish date: 2009-04-25 11:01:34
Good signals on coal and the OlympicsPublish date: 2009-04-24 10:45:28
Tips for the London MarathonPublish date: 2009-04-23 17:29:27
Missed the Budget, saw why it matteredPublish date: 2009-04-22 23:09:31
Football good, politics bad. AllegedlyPublish date: 2009-04-22 00:00:24
The Great Wall gets greaterPublish date: 2009-04-21 09:55:22
Two sides to police storyPublish date: 2009-04-20 11:39:54
Budgets, Balls, billionaires and Susan BoylePublish date: 2009-04-19 12:31:45
Do muscles have memories?Publish date: 2009-04-18 09:44:44
Bring back standing at footballPublish date: 2009-04-17 14:50:22
When Facebook friends fall outPublish date: 2009-04-16 12:29:16
Guardian sightings and the email and bath plug agendaPublish date: 2009-04-15 11:32:16
The spin is all in the prismPublish date: 2009-04-14 09:22:41
A setback, not a crisisPublish date: 2009-04-13 12:55:19
The real lessons from Damian McBridePublish date: 2009-04-12 10:49:47
Will English always be the dominant language?Publish date: 2009-04-11 10:02:02
On the pipes and what makes a ScotPublish date: 2009-04-10 11:06:20
John Prescott lazy? NO WAYPublish date: 2009-04-09 09:11:31
David Frost is seventyPublish date: 2009-04-08 08:48:38
The Speaker, BBC2, tonight and tomorrow 8pmPublish date: 2009-04-07 14:25:31
Obama, colds and being woken by Korean missilesPublish date: 2009-04-06 11:59:24
When a call matters more than protocolPublish date: 2009-04-05 11:33:42
Green Cities Champions LeaguePublish date: 2009-04-04 10:19:53
Could Cameron have delivered the G20 deal?Publish date: 2009-04-03 10:11:59
Of Benn and BonoPublish date: 2009-04-02 08:21:16
Memo to Sarko - allez vite a LondresPublish date: 2009-04-01 08:46:17
Happy April Fool's DayPublish date: 2009-04-01 01:44:05
Eurostar, Le Monde and a thought for the G20 sherpasPublish date: 2009-03-31 09:17:22
Why Kevin Rudd made an impactPublish date: 2009-03-30 10:24:41
Pre-G20 hype matters less than post-G20 processPublish date: 2009-03-29 13:17:28
The Damned UnitedPublish date: 2009-03-28 10:37:04
A hobby horse, a plug and a bit of sportPublish date: 2009-03-27 10:22:23
Cloughie - he had a lot to be big-headed aboutPublish date: 2009-03-26 09:38:36
A sad sight of the old fearing the youngPublish date: 2009-03-25 17:03:07
Post-modern, post-structural, or bullshit?Publish date: 2009-03-25 08:18:02
Learning the right lessons from ObamaPublish date: 2009-03-24 08:53:15
Lazy Dave needs to keep an eye on lazy KenPublish date: 2009-03-23 11:16:14
Farewell favourite restaurant, hello hometownPublish date: 2009-03-22 08:18:09
Dave, Danny and have the Tories really changed?Publish date: 2009-03-21 08:55:13
Life beyond Dover ...Publish date: 2009-03-20 10:11:21
My friends in The New Statesman - Fergie, Fiona, Tony, Sarah, Kevin, 'Dacre,' and a great GB idea for the G20Publish date: 2009-03-18 10:38:22
Iraq, Iran, GB, Obama and diplomatic chessPublish date: 2009-03-17 10:07:13
The Age of StupidPublish date: 2009-03-16 08:27:13
Is all change good?Publish date: 2009-03-15 10:00:06
The pressure of being a post-modern sex godPublish date: 2009-03-14 10:00:55
Cameron still hasn't sealed the deal with businessPublish date: 2009-03-13 09:21:49
Stand up for social workersPublish date: 2009-03-12 08:31:17
Surely Malcolm Tucker could have told Armando Ianucci ... You can't spin a spinnerPublish date: 2009-03-11 10:58:25
Start of a new approach from Labour?Publish date: 2009-03-10 09:54:12
A peace process still strongPublish date: 2009-03-09 08:21:05
Day of destiny for the real footballer of the yearPublish date: 2009-03-08 09:21:06
Private advice to Peggy Mitchell - the leaked note in fullPublish date: 2009-03-07 08:17:21
Boris, the Tories and the tummy-tickling poodle pressPublish date: 2009-03-06 09:49:37
A day in the life of the self-obsessed TV reporterPublish date: 2009-03-05 07:55:47
GB - good speech, well deliveredPublish date: 2009-03-04 19:31:05
Notes on the environment, a role in EastEndersPublish date: 2009-03-04 10:58:56
She may be my 'wife' but it is time to rebut!Publish date: 2009-03-03 10:52:59
Mental health and the Carling Cup FinalPublish date: 2009-03-01 09:08:17
Inside the chocolate factoryPublish date: 2009-02-28 10:23:59
GB on the G20, JP on Jeremy KylePublish date: 2009-02-27 09:14:36
Charity and the credit crunch, please give generously!Publish date: 2009-02-26 08:55:12
Why oh why are the Tories not home and dry?Publish date: 2009-02-24 09:44:59
Me, Dermot and ten top songsPublish date: 2009-02-23 10:02:19
Names round-upPublish date: 2009-02-22 08:43:39
What's in a name?Publish date: 2009-02-21 09:58:14
Editing the New StatesmanPublish date: 2009-02-20 11:42:36
Salute Peter M’s proper use of the F wordPublish date: 2009-02-19 09:58:58
Labour's communications challenge for the NHSPublish date: 2009-02-18 10:34:39
In praise of KeighleyPublish date: 2009-02-17 14:33:57
A night at the EmiratesPublish date: 2009-02-17 00:06:51
When marriage is testedPublish date: 2009-02-16 13:36:35
Spare me the myths and the whiningPublish date: 2009-02-15 13:29:50
Dave Cameron - is that all there is?Publish date: 2009-02-14 11:11:55
Boris Johnson: F is for ...Publish date: 2009-02-13 07:55:10
The Cameron vacuumPublish date: 2009-02-12 14:48:33
Lincoln, Obama, Blair and the 24 hour media culturePublish date: 2009-02-11 10:28:47
Eighteen interviews later ...Publish date: 2009-02-10 19:24:45
Time to talk about Time to Change on NewsnightPublish date: 2009-02-09 22:47:49
So that’s what they mean by online community?Publish date: 2009-02-08 12:12:51
First blogPublish date: 2009-02-05 15:23:57
Obnoxio The Clown
2009-03-02 17:27:00Alastair, some blogging software editors have a manual option to "preserve line breaks" or some such.
Hope this helps!
Alina Palimaru
2009-03-02 15:58:55Alastair, no need to apologize or explain yourself for these technical glitches. I read the blog before the breaks were inserted... and, oh my gosh, I didn't die! I am not sure what shallow creep would have complained about that... In this instance, it's content and message that matter and not form.
Moving on to serious things, your piece is right on target! I will be there when GB speaks, and have seen many other foreign leaders address Congress. You get a sense of the magnitude of these speeches not only from the build-up to the event (the volume of information/talking points passed around from congressional office to congressional office, all the speculation) but also from the moments following it, with Members of Congress reacting to the speech.
However, the vibe of the House Chamber is the best indicator of the significance of it all. I was there in 2006 when then Israeli PM Ehud Olmert addressed Congress, and you could cut the tension with a knife, given that the Lebanon war was unfolding simultaneously.
I think GB will encounter a friendly frame of reference with his audience, given that Democrats have majority in both houses. Also, considering U.S. media coverage of him, I suspect he will also be welcomed for his leadership in the global financial crisis. I am looking forward to the speech!
Julia Braun
2009-03-02 14:14:58The bits about Tony being nervous before big speeches were among my favourite bits in your diaries.
For some reason, though I've never been in a comparable situation, I could really relate to the idea that he had to get himself really worked up in what seemed to be quite an unhealthy way to do a speech well.
PS: I must be just about the only politically-minded person in Britain who just doesn't find US politics interesting. Good of Gordon to go over and make it a bit more exciting for me! ;)
Marcus Dillistone
2009-03-02 13:47:08P.S. I hope the term "unpleasant slab of words" doesn't come back to haunt you!
Marcus Dillistone
2009-03-02 13:24:05You may need to insert some HTML code to add paragraph breaks.
I see that the US is donating $900 miIIion to rebuiId Gaza. PresumabIy this is 'budget neutraI' for the US as it wiII recoup the cash from the saIe of 'smart' bombs to IsraeI.
In addition to the usual 'special relationship' fodder, I hope that GB can do some practical good in his speech; maybe invite Americans to visit us more cheaply than ever, or to consider our now bargain priced goods and services... a mention for our film industry services and facilities might be too much to ask!
AC
2009-03-02 12:44:30Before the usual 'paragraphs!!' complaints, I DO use them but for some reason when I submit the blog to the site, the paragraph breaks are not always included. Hence the unpleasant slab of words on the other side of the screen. Irritating but being checked out
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