Kimmons & Kimmons

Kimmons & Kimmons is a Brussels based lobbying consultancy led by a former lobbyist for pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline. At a training course on lobbying in Brussels, Chrissie Kimmons outlined a long list of possible lobbying strategies which industry uses depending on the circumstances, including:

• The gunship:

aggressive lobbying including threats of relocation if policy proposals are not dropped (only to be used if other tactics do not work)

• The Kofi Annan: (also known as ‘the Trojan horse’)

constructive engagement, offering decision-makers a mutually acceptable compromise (a strategy very commonly used in Brussels)

• Good-cop bad-cop:

one company or lobby group takes a hardline position, which allows others to take centre-stage with what may be presented as constructive compromise solutions

• The dentist:

first ‘pull out the worst teeth’ from a disliked piece of legislation and then come back for further ‘treatment’

• The third party:

reaching out to NGOs and unions to find a compromise on a disputed issue

• The donkey:

winning over decision-makers by capitalising on their interests and preferences, but stopping short of seduction and bribery ^[1]

Notes

• ^ Corporate Europe Observatory July 2005, 3rd Edition Lobby Planet Guide The EU Quarter Last Accessed 21st August 2007