Communication politique et séduction à travers la Déclaration de politique générale du Premier ministre Idrissa Seck à l'Assemblée nationale le 03 février 2003

CHAPTER 3 : THE PREDISCURSIF ETHOS

1. THE IMAGE OF IDRISSA SECK BEFORE ITS NOMINATION WITH PRIMATURE

Contrary to the discursive ethos which returns to the image that the speaker builds in his speech, the preliminary ethos refers to the preexistent image of the actor of the public sphere, in fact, here, the Prime Minister Idrissa Seck. This last, born in 1959, is militant of long date of the Senegalese democratic Party of which it is the number two since 1998. It is in 1988 that it carries out an entry in the public sphere, while becoming, at the 28 years age, the Director of countryside of the candidate Abdoulaye Wade to the presidential election of February 1988. It is thus, which after the defeat of the Senegalese democratic Party to the presidential election of 1988, it turns over to France to continue studies at the Institute of Political Studies of Paris. Thereafter, it will remain in the United States where it will work as consultant. Returned in Senegal, it will belong to the men chosen by the Secretary-general of the Senegalese democratic Party, Abdoulaye Wade, to sit in a Government of national union between 1995 and 1998. During all this period, it forever have basic electoral, nor electoral mandate of national scale. On the other hand, it did not cease incarnating the image of the exceptionally gifted strategist, who prefers the strategic reflection at the top with the militancy at the base. It is besides in 1998 only that it enters truly the political battle at the base, while directing the departmental list of its party at the time of the legislative elections in its town of origin, Thiès. A few months before, it profits from the defection of the number two, in fact, of its party, Mr Ousmane Ngom. This last creates its own political formation in 1998, the Senegalese liberal Party (PLS), and will show Idrissa Seck to benefit from its proximity with the Secretary-general of the PDS in order to place its men at all the authorities of being able. Although beaten by the socialist Party, in his birthplace of Thiès, Idrissa Seck Associated Secretary-general of the PDS will not be established less by it. At the presidential elections of 2000, named Directing of countryside, it will implement a strategy of innovative communication inspired by American political marketing built around « Blue walk »^23(*).

This election devotes the victory of its candidate, Abdoulaye Wade, and marks the advent of Alternation, after a reign without forty years division of the socialist Party. Appointed Minister of State, Principal private secretary of the President Abdoulaye Lagging, station which it will comment on while saying : «I am there in silence and with the shelter of the glances », (Sall, 2001), it will assoira its capacity by setting up a network made up, for the majority, of his friends and faithful in favor who will see themselves named with positions of being able^24(*). At the same time, it will endeavor to fight its adversaries, as well inside the PDS^25(*), within the allied parties^26(*). Its repeated attacks will be at the origin of the resignation of the Prime Minister Moustapha Niasse^27(*). After the resignation of Moustapha Denied, Idrissa Seck remains at its post of Minister of State, Principal private secretary of the President and benefits from it to consolidate its capacity. And this, more especially as the new Prime Minister, Mame Madior Boye^28(*), are a technocrat, without membership, nor bases political. After its resignation, Idrissa Seck will be named Prime Minister, thus devoting a man who always had the ambition « in shoulder-belt » and which, already, had registered on its Internet site « I was born to Be President »^29(*). From where the image of « man in a hurry »^30(*), deeply influenced by the American culture which is coupled for him less than one month after the arrival with the capacity of Pds.

In short, Mr Idrissa Seck had, until his nomination like Prime Minister in November 2003, a ethos which returned to two principal axes. One, positive, made of him the faithful foal of the Head of the State, that it betrayed forever and who placed his know-how and its political and intellectual genius at the disposal of Pds for his accession with the capacity. The other, returns to the pressed man, imbu of his person, with the limit of sufficiency and the arrogance, which does not hesitate to exclude or marginalize its detractors and who posts an immoderate taste of the capacity. All things which will bring the Prime Minister to relooker his image before its passage in front of the deputies of the French National Assembly. An attempt which we will indicate by the concept of preformatting of the image of oneself

* ²³ «  blue walk consisted, for Pds, to beat countryside through the various cities of Senegal, in the shape of a convoy which will cross Senegal from beginning to end with the advantage of not holding systematically of the political meetings. Those requiring a logistics and financial means Pds did not have.

* ²⁴According to the independent weekly magazine New Horizon on June 03, 2005, «  Idrissa Seck was [when he was a Principal private secretary of the Head of the State] the strong man of the liberal mode after Wade. That which had the ear of the president and which, by the means of this one, made and demolished all the careers in the spheres of the State and the apparatus of Pds.

* ²⁵ The most obvious cases are those of the slingers of Dakar  : Doudou Lagging, Rolls Ba and Abdou Fall. The two named last will be isolated besides Government. It is the same fate that the Minister Aminata Tall will undergo. Irony of the fate, all these people currently sit at the Government contrary with Mr Seck who is imprisoned at present with the prison of Rebeuss.

* ²⁶ Idrissa Seck declared, a few weeks only after the formation of the Government of the Alternation, which it would beat Moustapha Niasse, the Prime Minister and at the same time combined PDS, with the next legislative elections.

* ²⁷ Arrived third at the first turn of the presidential election, it supported, with the second turn of the presidential election of 2000, the adverse candidate Abdoulaye Wade, who will be finally elected and who will make of him its Prime Minister.

* ²⁸ Mame madior Boye is a lawyer of formation, without political affiliation. It initially was a Minister for Justice in the first Government of Alternation before to be named Prime Minister from March 2001 to November 2002.

* ²⁹ This forever officially contradicted information. However we could not check the veracity of it. However, there is an Internet site bearing the name of the Prime Minister Idrissa Seck on whom this sentence is registered  : «  Idrissa Seck, next President  ». See www.idrissaseck.com site visited on July 29, 2005.

* ³⁰ Issa Sall, «  The Man in a hurry  », New Horizon N° 217 of April 14, 2000.