RECENTLY, a recruitment ad for a political adviser to a Manitoba cabinet minister arrived in my in-box. The position paid $75,000 to $90,000 a year.
The successful candidate was required to possess “strong political acumen, with the ability to manage confidential and politically sensitive materials and situations in an appropriate manner.”
Willingness to work long hours, ability to handle competing priorities and an understanding of social media were other listed requirements.
It was also noted that the new adviser would work closely with the premier’s office, other ministers and the communications personnel serving the government.
“Political staff” is the generic phrase used to describe all individuals appointed based on partisan connections to support elected politicians in the performance of their governing and party activities.
Such staff are paid from public funds. Staffers work in the premier’s office, for ministers, in caucus research bureaus, for individual MLAs in the legislature and in the 57 constituency offices across the province.
Because staffers have ongoing behind-the-scenes access to politicians, they are often mistakenly accused of having influence without corresponding accountability. Critics ridicule them as “kids in short pants,” or even more harshly as “spear carriers” for premiers and prime ministers.
Such characterizations unfairly misrepresent the qualifications and roles of political staff. Political staff advise and support politicians, but they are not the final decision-makers on most matters.
Staffers are necessary because unaided, ministers, leaders of opposition parties and individual MLAs could not do their jobs well. The premier and ministers face multiple demands on their time — in addition to their government duties in cabinet, the legislature and in leading departments, they must provide constituency services, participate in caucus, attend party events and raise money.
The workload for opposition party leaders and even backbench MLAs can also be heavy, especially during certain time periods.
Generalizations about political staff are tricky, because their educational backgrounds and previous experiences vary significantly, as do their locations in the governing process, the nature of their duties and to whom they report.
The list of potential duties is too long to be fully covered here, but it would include: conducting research and providing policy advice; writing speeches and briefing notes; handling incoming and outgoing communications, particularly digital messaging; organizing travel and keeping track of contacts; liaising with the bureaucracy; and co-ordinating the actions required to carry out political decisions.
Staff are appointed by orders in council in a process centralized in the premier’s office, and are almost always “friends” of the governing party, which does not necessarily mean they are unqualified.
Senior staff serving the premier and major ministers are usually experienced, accomplished persons who bring understanding of the constitutional norms of cabinet and parliamentary government and are guided by a keen sense of personal integrity.
There have been rare cases, both nationally and provincially, when such individuals have exhibited excess zeal in seeking to advance the interests of “the boss.”
One Manitoba case involved the chief of staff to former Progressive Conservative premier Gary Filmon, who sought to advance the PC cause by staging a vote-splitting scheme that involved using party funds to run Indigenous candidates as independents in the 1995 provincial election.
Most political staff perform more administrative roles and tend to be young and inexperienced, which means they do not always possess the requisite knowledge of the governing principles that should shape their behaviour.
Burnout from a frenetic pace and turnover after elections mean staff may have limited time to master the routines of the governing process.
One of the indirect benefits of having political staff is to protect the impartiality of the public servants by not dragging them into the political fray. This benefit is occasionally lost when political staff, claiming to speak on behalf of the minister, put pressure on public servants to support partisan goals.
Governments have struggled to define more precisely the role of political staff in a constitutional order that traditionally recognized only elected and accountable politicians and appointed, anonymous public servants.
In principle, any political staff actions would fall within the scope of ministerial responsibility, which means ministers would be required to answer for their behaviour, including misconduct.
Following scandals, this arrangement was seen as inadequate, so governments gradually adopted codes of conduct, adherence to which became a condition of employment for political staff. Manitoba’s recently passed Public Service Act (2022) provides for such a code.
It describes in one page a set of responsible behaviours, such as avoiding conflicts of interest and contributing to respectful workplaces.
Codes are useful, but not self-enforcing. It is unclear how much education will occur to encourage all political staffers to behave responsibly.
Paul G. Thomas is professor emeritus of political studies at
the University of Manitoba.
