Hong Kong’s next leader Carrie Lam must wow her doubters not just with substance, but also style

Bernard Chan says with the hard work to win now behind her, the chief executive-elect must show she deserves her victory with responsive policies – and an inclusive style of leadership

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Chief executive-elect Carrie Lam takes a photo with Hong Kong residents, a day after she was elected. Probably the majority of Hong Kong people agree that we need to make progress on economic opportunities, the cost of housing, the education system or air quality. Lam will need to deliver in terms of policies that serve the interests of the broad community. Photo: AP

Published: 1:07pm, 30 Mar 2017Updated: 9:00pm, 30 Mar 2017

I realise that there was a lot of cynicism about last Sunday’s chief executive election. We all know that the “small circle” voting process does not have widespread credibility in the community.

However, as campaign director for the winning candidate, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, I can say that the run-up to the election involved a lot of hard work. Indeed, I think this was the case with all of the candidates’ campaigns.

It was clear to us that we had to reach out not only to the Election Committee, but also to the whole of Hong Kong. We needed to win over a majority – and preferably a sizable one – of the 1,194 votes of the Election Committee. Cynics may say that the 777 votes that Carrie eventually won were all automatic or handed to us on a plate, but this result involved a lot of effort. At the same time, we seriously wanted to get support from the seven million people of Hong Kong. This was also a challenge, and most public opinion polls showed Carrie coming second in the popularity ratings.

The 2½-month campaign was a learning curve for all of us.

In theory, it should not be too difficult to lobby for votes from just under 1,200 members of the Election Committee. In practice, it is impossible to address the committee as a single group.

The lesson here is that image counts for a lot. Substance alone is not enough

It is a small body, so every individual vote counts. Yet the body is splintered into 38 subsectors, many of which are fairly narrow constituencies. Every candidate must visit all of them, listen to their concerns and give them reasons why they should back him or her.

This electorate is not simply split into two or three broad factions. Many of these groups have very specific positions on issues to do with their industries or professions. Quite a few have very detailed demands. In some cases, the demands are impossible to meet. And some are contradictory. For example, some business groups want the government to ease up on the importation of overseas workers, while labour groups are totally opposed to the very same thing.