A survival guide for advisers to the powerful

From Nixon’s downfall to Merkel’s success, history offers hard lessons for those behind the throne.

Mark Pierce

4 December 20254 min read

News headlines are littered with stories about the powers behind thrones. Those shadowy figures may be accused of leaking against political rivals (from Downing Street), promoting their own agendas (in the White House), engaging in corruption (in Kyiv), battling for access and status (around the Kremlin), or crowding out other ministers (in New Delhi). There are now so many aspirants to behind-the-scenes top jobs that a few simple guidelines for them might prove handy.

For once, none of this counsel comes from Shakespeare. Malvolio, Iago and Banquo are hardly attractive role models. One is ensnared by desire, the second lethally jealous, while the third plays his best scenes as a ghost.

Remember that nobody will thank you

Nobody ever congratulated the knights who murdered an archbishop in his cathedral or princes in the Tower of London. Doing the dirty work, serving as a lightning rod, insulating your boss, those are not tasks which build up treasures in Heaven. A trusted henchman need not be excoriated, as H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman were for their service to Richard Nixon, but he is likely to end up politically excommunicated. One rare but happy exception was Beate Baumann, who served as head of the Chancellor’s office during Angela Merkel’s entire term. No prospective adviser should expect such longevity.

You do not need to be the smartest person in the room

Common sense and political interest are both served by considering setting up a team of rivals, on the model of Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet, or selecting the best and the brightest, as John Kennedy tried to do. Recruiting sycophants or taking advice solely from within your own partisan echo chamber preclude the emergence of new ideas or techniques. Senior advisers should at least pretend to enjoy contestability, even contradiction.

A first-rate counseller (say, James Baker for Ronald Reagan and the older George Bush) does not dismiss or deprecate experts; he drains them for ideas. As for seminal thoughts and bold inspirations, they are best attributed not to advisers or experts but to the leaders themselves. Ventriloquism is, indeed, a form of magic.

Watergate Hotel, Washington DC (Nick-D CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikimedia Commons)

Know your own country

Nixon once confided that he had hoped governing would enable him to view his country as though through a telescope. Instead, he found himself using a kaleidoscope. There is, however, nothing wrong with embracing the quiddities and diversity of your nation. As President of France, François Mitterrand wanted to make himself “part of the landscape”, to sense and feel his country under his fingernails. Continuing to learn and love ever more about your land is surely the best way to avoid being trapped in a hermetic political bubble and to remind yourself why your job really matters.

Learn enough about economics to avoid being bluffed or bullied

Right-hand men and women really do need to know enough about how the economy works to query, credibly and cogently, the conventional wisdom. If the dead weight of orthodoxy seems oppressive, then refresh by reading Thomas Piketty, Raghuram Rajan or Bernie Sanders. Advisers should not want their bosses to emulate Liz Truss by crashing their economies within a matter of weeks. On the other hand, they should try to liberate their political masters from the strait-jacket of ticking boxes, deferring to precedent and repeating past errors.

Vanity in an adviser can slide into flamboyance and arrogance; Dominic Cummings in London and Henry Kissinger in Washington remain cautionary tales.

Do not try to master all the dossiers

The French have coined an eloquent phrase for an obsessive-compulsive workaholic. Bourreau de travail literally – and rather bluntly – means an executioner at work. (The same cruel matter-of-factness is evident in using the terms negre and domestique to describe those who assist in writing or cycling.) Bourreaux, though, tend to wear out themselves and others, losing (executing, if you like) their sense of balance after they abandon their sense of humour. Illustrations are too obvious and numerous to cite. In addition, beware of anyone (like Margaret Thatcher or Sanae Takaichi) who claims to survive on only a few hours’ sleep each night.

Never make yourself the story

Cardinal Richelieu, Marcus Agrippa and Thomas Cromwell were not as famous as their royal and imperial patrons but may have been too celebrated for their own good. Vanity in an adviser can slide into flamboyance and arrogance; Dominic Cummings in London and Henry Kissinger in Washington remain cautionary tales. A few of the most adroit confidantes were utterly, ominously inconspicuous, whether Joseph Fouché running a spy and police network in revolutionary France or Martin Bormann assiduously arranging access and appointments for Adolf Hitler.

Seek consolations where you may

One French Prime Minister, Michel Rocard, likened his job to that of “a happy Sisyphus”, endlessly pushing a rock (one here composed of policy, ambition, prejudices, politics and grudges) up a hill, only to have it roll down again. Happiness in this context might include knowing your own shelf-life, looking forward to doing entirely different things and reuniting with your family.

About the author

Mark Pierce

Mark Pierce was a diplomat and is now a writer who has spent years living in France and Germany.

Topics

Diplomacy