By Ghirmai Zemichael
The biblical wise man, King Solomon, advised thousands of years ago that “there is a time to speak and a time to keep silence” (Ecclesiastes / መክብብ 3:7). And it’d be important for public officials in particular to adhere to this time-honored principle when they make public statements. And, one memorable politician, who famously kept his silence when he should, was Bob Rae: A prominent lawyer, Rhode scholar and veteran Canadian politician who completed his service as Canada’s ambassador to the U.N. this month.
Prior to becoming an ambassador and federal Member of Parliament, Rae was Ontario’s premier during a deep economic recession, which thus made him very unpopular resulting in the coining of the term “Rae days”. Rae’s premiership coincided with the Toronto Blue Jays’ back-to-back win in “World Series” baseball championship in 1993.
Subsequently, the Ontario Premier joined the celebration in his province’s capital, Toronto, but the timing wasn’t right for a speech. So, “wearing a Blue Jays T-shirt, he flashed a sign to the crowd that read: No speech today. Hooray for the Jays”. Suddenly, instead of the anticipated booing and jeering, the crowd enthusiastically cheered and applauded the premier. Later on, Rae gave credit for the idea for the sign to his unnamed friend.
This story from over 30 years ago came to mind following the firestorm sparked by Getachew Reda’s recent interview on Aljazeera’s Head-to-Head program with host Mehdi Hasan. Let me make it clear at the outset that Getachew is not blamed for any bad public policy or the political and socioeconomic crisis the Tigrai Region is currently facing. Nor is he necessarily hated by the people of Tigrai in general. With that in mind, the problem with his latest interview is not what he said or chose to leave unsaid, but rather the purpose and timing.
Public communication rule dictates that public figures should make sure “the purpose of their giving interview” so as to “assess the value and potential impact of a given interview” and “should understand their target audience”.
In that case, there appears to be no compelling reason for Getachew to appear in a global media network at this point in time. And it’s highly unlikely that – other than that of Ethiopians, particularly Tegaru, living abroad, and Eritreans who make Ethiopia their business – the interview attracted the attention of an international audience.
To the contrary, the interview had unintended and undesired outcome in at least three major related ways:
- In a time when TPLF’s every step is being closely scrutinized and the party is held to account for the first time in its 30+ year history in power – with the new agenda shifting to Getachew – it’s like it’s been given supplementary oxygen.
On that note, the current primary topic of discussion, for instance, would have been the ETB 6.4 billion the Interim Government of Tigrai is reportedly seeking to collect from the people of Tigrai who still have to recover from the aftereffects of a bloody war as opposed to Getachew.
- Supporters of Getachew Reda’s reform agenda – who typically would be on the offense in the current favorable political climate – are now spending their opportune time energy and resources in defending their internally displaced political leader.
- Conversely, the legion of cadres, paid as well as indoctrinated social media personalities – who began to lose grip and already started to uncharacteristically criticize their party – have shifted gears to reverse, and have had a field day attacking Getachew and his reform politics.
As his supporters often point out, Getachew is indeed articulate, witty and media savvy. Besides, he is someone who spent a greater portion of his political life as a party and government spokesperson. As such, the familiar media environment and the sense of comfort in front of the camera might be appealing. Nonetheless, as what he says – or even what he chooses not to say – evidently has an impact on the political goal he strives to achieve, it’s high time for him to put an end to his media and social media overexposure.
To that effect, Getachew has to develop a strategic silence whereby – never mind for a pre-arranged interview – he would learn to say, “No speech, no interview today; no comment” even to a surprise “media ambush”. Sure enough, that would grant him the opportunity to do his important job of restoring the dignity of internally displaced people and that of the people of Tigrai at large.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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