Obama shows how to stir a jaded electorate
Our chief executive did the right thing by sending a congratulatory message to Barack Obama on his victory in the US presidential election. He extended an invitation to Senator Obama to visit Hong Kong, home to one of the largest concentrations of American citizens and business interests in Asia. Congratulations apart, there are many things Hong Kong's political players can learn from this charismatic and transformational leader.
In building his election campaign on 'change', Senator Obama used the slogan 'Yes we can' to win the hearts of those Americans who had become apathetic to politics because of years of partisan and divisive policies. The slogan also hit home with young people who were sceptical of their ability to make a difference. The success of Senator Obama's message drew millions of first-time voters and others who contributed their time and money to the cause. Here lies the first lesson for our legislators.
After every Legislative Council election, we hear candidates complaining of voter apathy and lack of financial resources. At the last election, only 45 per cent of eligible voters went to the polling stations.
To some extent, the success of Wong Yuk-man demonstrated that voters could be persuaded to come forward to support new candidates who conveyed the 'right' message. But the Obama experience proved beyond doubt that there are more voters and money than meet the eye.
Under our proportional representation system, an increase of a few percentage points in voter turnout can make candidates winners or losers. Anyone aspiring to become a legislator in the next election cannot fail if he or she finds the right message to attract new voters and, like Senator Obama, makes use of the internet.
There are also useful lessons in the Obama success story for our chief executive and his team. Take Senator Obama's acceptance speech; it followed a consistent theme of humility and inclusiveness. Our chief executive had long been criticised for adopting a friend-or-foe approach in dealing with different political parties. He has refuted this allegation and has appointed several pan-democratic members to a few government boards recently. The Obama approach should help reinforce the chief executive's resolve to treat all political opponents as partners.
Another lesson is what I would call the 'we' formula. Most leaders use 'I' in their public messages to underline their personal ability. Our chief executive is no exception.
But the central theme of Senator Obama's campaign was the emphasis on 'we'. However, this formula only worked because he travelled across the nation and addressed hundreds of thousands of people during his campaign.
In this year's policy address, the chief executive said he had asked his politically appointed officials to reach out more to the community and visit districts to listen to public views. He has pledged greater public engagement within the government. But a series of unpopular actions has created a clear disconnect between the government and the people.
Drawing on Senator Obama's experience, our high-ranking officials should double their efforts to walk the districts and talk to as many sectors as possible. It's easy to replace 'I' with 'we' in an official speech. But it requires a lot of walking, listening, talking and doing to convince the audience that 'we' includes them.
Senator Obama mentioned opportunity and unyielding hope as part of the enduring powers of America. These used to be our strengths, too. But the economic environment has deteriorated and our confidence in the government has been shaken. The government needs to reconnect with the people, to understand their problems and hopes, to think and act as a government 'of the people'.
The chief executive and his officials cannot overcome the financial crisis. But the government and the people working together? Yes we can.
Joseph Wong Wing-ping, formerly secretary for the civil service, is an adjunct professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong
