The lobbying recipe according to the Uber Files
Is there a recipe for good lobbying? If yes, can you use it too? The Uber Files are an amazing opportunity to understand what goes on behind the closed doors of the EU institutions.
We have been talking and writing about it several times this week already but I am not going to stop soon: the rabbit hole seems to go deeper and deeper.
After allegations against Emmanuel Macron and other former or current ministers in Europe, after the breach of ethics rules from former Commissioner Neelie Kroes, a new item enters the debate around the Uber Files, the giant revelation about the lobbying practices of the on-demand transport company.
Today, let’s have a closer look at these practices. POLITICO’s Sarah Wheaton interviewed Alberto Alemanno, law professor and founder of The Good Lobby. He came out with a recipe for lobbying, quite the system used by Uber and other corporation trying to influence the political agenda.
The recipe for efficient lobbying
I will not keep the suspense longer, so here is the quote for yesterday’s POLITICO’s Influence newsletter:
THREE EASY STEPS:
1 — Paint a positive narrative “through the help of friendly, and well-paid think tanks.”
2 — Commission academics to “fabricate evidence” to back up the narrative. “(Academics are quite cheap to buy!)” Alemanno added.
3 — Use the narrative to gain favor with sympathetic, high-level pols. (That last point, we’d note, still requires some finesse.)
As a former consultant lobbyist myself, I must confess this is a fairly good summary of what lobbying consists of.
On the “positive narrative”: every company, organisation - even nonprofits - believes and claims they change the world for the better. I mean… if you don’t believe in it yourself, who will? Then you try to find allies that support your claim, your “narrative”.
To “fabricate evidence” is a little exaggerated. I would rather say that an organisation needs to find the arguments, the clues, the figures that back its claim. The only thing you have to “fabricate” is the means to communicate them.
To gain favor with politicians is indeed the tricky part. One can think beyond: elected officials are as good as their electoral base. Do consumers want cheaper means of transportation? Better support Uber. The best support for an organisation is not politicians, it is the people behind them.
A recipe for success… But what’s in it for you?
Now, there are two ways to look at it. One could lament that greedy corporations found a way to put politicians and policymakers in their pockets, and that they profit billions from it, and that poor little workers and consumers are being exploited, and that the world has become crazy, and everything can be bought now, and what has become of our society?…
But that’s the lazy approach. Yes, Uber and Company found a recipe to advance their agenda. But is that so bad? Aren’t you enjoying a nice cheap clean ride with Uber every now and then? Haven’t you ever used a service provided by a tech or agrifood giant? Can you certify that you reject, and will always reject lobbying activities?
I challenge you to look at it the other way. There is a recipe for lobbying. Now you can use it too.
What should be changed about this world? How can we make life better and easier for people? How could you improve your situation? Well, you got the method right there: go use it!
Lobbyist will lobby
Lobbyists will lobby. Companies will sell. Politicians will make policies, for better or for worse. But you can act too.
In the future, I' would like to explore with you in more details how policy is made in Europe, and how one can lobby. First to understand how interest groups shape policy (and in turn, how we live), and second to identify how citizens can voice their ideas. The tools are there, we just have to use them.
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