Seamless transition from poetry to prose

It was former New York Governor, Mario Cuomo, another son of Italian immigrants, writing in the New Republic magazine in 1985 who coined the phrase, “You campaign in poetry, you govern in prose”. The Italian American understood something often overlooked by many political leaders: the clear and necessary distinction between campaigning and governing. It’s all well and good to fight the good fight, but once you’re there you’ve actually got to run the show!

Governor Cuomo’s quote came to mind this week as I watched new Queensland Premier David Crisafulli navigate the transition to government following Saturday’s convincing election victory for the LNP.

Mr Crisafulli’s campaign poem was crafted around four motifs: crime, health, housing, cost of living. It told a story that reflected back to Queenslanders their lived reality and as a result they were receptive. The LNP have been sharing this poem with Queensland for four years, not just four weeks, and doing so with remarkable discipline and focus. It worked on October 26 because the LNP first listened to people, their stories, their pressure points and then developed an alternative poem to the one offered by Labor. 

From Sunday morning the shift from energetic campaigner to methodical and measured Premier was needed and unlike some before him, Mr Crisafulli seamlessly shifted gears. 

Images emerging on Tuesday and Wednesday of Mr Crisafulli meeting frontline police officers, nurses, doctors, paramedics and hospital patients sent a clear signal that he cares about people. It demonstrated that his government will prioritise service provision for Queenslanders, including the respecting the dedicated professionals who deliver those services. This was another proof point that a Crisafulli LNP Government will be pragmatic, focused on the core business of state governments: service delivery. Given some 200,000 of our state’s 308,000 public servants are frontline, these images send a powerful signal to each and every one of them.

But of great interest to a policy and governance tragic like myself was the decision to prioritise machinery of government changes before appointing Ministers. It calmed the farm within the LNP and inside the public service. The day after an election win is usually a flurry of phone calls, positioning and posturing. The race to enjoy the spoils of victory is messy and sends the wrong message to the community.

Through this lens, a transition to government often looks like: 1) appoint Minister, 2) determine the resources needed and then 3) “what problem are we trying to solve?”. 

Applying good governance principles, Mr Crisafulli turned that around: 1) “what problem are we trying to solve?” 2) determine the resources needed and then 3) appoint the Minister.

Anyone who has ever run a business or served on a board knows you need to understand the landscape before allocating resources or appointing appropriate staff. 

The poetry of campaigning seamlessly became the prose of governing. This lays the foundation for calm, consistent and considered government.

For the full Crisafulli Ministry click here