Birgitte Nyborg: Principle versus Temptation

First a word of warning: I love this woman, I love how she manages, how she delegates, how she masters events. I want my boss to be Birgitte Nyborg. That said, let us begin with a short conversation.

 Kasper: Birgitte, look at this.Birgitte: "Cinco Días" [ business newspaper], what do they want?
Kasper: An article defining your leadership.
Birgitte: OK Kasper, you take care of it. You know exactly how I lead.

This short imaginary exchange reveals some of the keys to Birgitte Nyborg's leadership. She is the main character in "Borgen", a work of political fiction. Her task is to manage priorities and delegate. Kasper is the ‘spin doctor’. Birgitte came to power in an unexpected fashion after her rivals' dirty tricks came to light in the last parliamentary debate. This gave her a central position in Danish politics and she became Prime Minister of a shaky coalition government. When Birgitte gained power, she had to focus on other priorities which meant struggling with various political and business interests that were bent on blocking reforms. She had firm ideas of what a political leader should do (tell the truth, keep promises, be honest, look after family). Juggling all these balls at the same time overwhelmed Birgitte when she began as PM. As a result, her priorities focused on politics and family life took a back seat. Although she was good at delegating tasks and managed big issues well, her high-pressure job created ructions in the family and led to the break-up of her marriage (her husband did not like playing 'second fiddle' — this and other things led to divorce).

Despite the personal cost, she is unwavering. This shows another key aspect of Nyborg's leadership — her faithfulness to principles and willingness to put the common good before her personal interests. The same principles lead her to sacrifice her Economics Minister (who was also her friend and mentor). She did so for the sake of government unity and to make sure her policies stayed on track. Another watershed in the series is when Nyborg sets up a new political party after realising her old one had become a tool in the hands of an unscrupulous politician. This makes Nyborg put principles before power and money, given that setting up a new party means making financial and personal sacrifices. If we look at the whole series, Nyborg is a leader who is faithful to her ideas. She is also a skilful negotiator who reaches agreements based on realistic objectives. Thus, when she has to deal with business interests, she can make deals that do not betray her principles. In fact we see a leader who can deal with anything thrown at her in politics but who is at a loss when it comes to tackling her private life. In the series, she goes through a divorce, her daughter has serious problems and has to be admitted to an institution. In the series’ third season, Nyborg has cancer. Despite everything, Birgitte’s sheer perseverance and commitment to public service overcomes every obstacle strewn in her way. Nyborg ‘evolves’ throughout the series. Cruel reality, betrayal by friends and enemies alike make her more worldly but do not make her cynical or lose her ideals. Yet events do make her realise when she needs to take a more practical stance. For example, on one occasion when an information leak would stop a peace agreement being reached to end a war, she decides that peace takes precedence over publishing the story. She speaks to the journalists and spells out what is at stake, telling them that peace in a strife-torn part of Africa is more important than newspaper headlines. Given that this is Denmark, the whole thing ends well.

Last, to analyse Birgitte Nyborg’s leadership, we do not need to know who she is or where she comes from. We do not even need to know what she says because she is highly persuasive by nature. What counts in her case are her deeds, which are always crystal-clear and true to her principles. She places great store by a collective project that is more important than individuals’ egos. She is honest, persevering, manages priorities and is always aware that she is in politics to make the lives of her fellow citizens better.

At the end of the series, she returns ‘home’ to “Borgen”, a Christiansborg palace. She could have been Prime Minister a second time round if she had accepted a coalition that included the far-right but this would have gone against her principles so instead she chooses to be Foreign Minister in a Liberal Christian-Democrat government. While this may be credible in the context of Danish politics, such things sound far-fetched (if not downright impossible) in Spain. As I said at the outset, I love Birgitte Nyborg.