Perception is reality. Something Deputy Prime Minister Bill English was loudly reminded of this week.
Even though no rules had been broken, the perception that somehow he had bucked the system, and as a result, was receiving an allowance almost twice as much as any other Minister to live in his own home in Wellington, was very real.
His verbal protests around his entitlement to the allowance did nothing to enhance his case. In fact, they served to underline the apparent injustice, and inappropriateness, of it.
Andrew Laxon’s article in the New Zealand Herald summed it up in saying
“ … a Minister of Finance who led a personal crusade to make everyone tighten their belts in the recession was seen to be taking as much as he could from the public purse. The timing was particularly bad in a week when the Government, fresh from cutting night classes and training allowances for DPB mums, faced more flak for axing therapists for severely disabled children.”
After several days of protests, English conceded “I understand that this does not look good …” and said he will be paying back almost half of the allowance he’d received to fall into line with other Ministers.
“The fact is that no amount of detail will change the perception that in some way I am gaining a bigger allowance than other members of Parliament. So I have decided to deal with that perception.”
As English said ‘it doesn’t really matter what the technicalities are’. Perception is reality and reputation rules.
The allowance probably wouldn’t have generated any column inches at all had we not been in the midst of a significant recession, which illustrates the point that reputation is dynamic.
Tracking trends, and keeping abreast of the changing moods, needs, wants and fears of our clients and constituents, is essential in helping maintain a positive reputation and strong support.
Assume nothing’s changed and you may find yourself on the back-foot, or even irrelevant, as a result.
