What makes a good political resignation speech?

Analysis: there's an art to writing memorable speeches, especially when it's a matter of saying goodbye

There is an art to writing memorable and good speeches, perhaps even more so when it's a matter of saying goodbye. The latest political resignation has come from Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. Making the announcement from her residence at Bute House in Edinburgh, she said in her head and in her heart she knew the time is "now" to step down. "That it's right for me, for my party and my country."

"Since my very first moments in the job I have believed a part of serving well would be to know almost instinctively when the time is right to make way for someone else," she said. "My decision comes from a place of duty and of love. Tough love, perhaps, but love nevertheless for my party and above all for the country."

Echoing outgoing New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, the First Minister reminded everyone she is "a human being as well as a politician", adding: "My point is this, giving absolutely everything of yourself to this job is the only way to do it. The country deserves nothing less. But in truth that can only be done by anyone for so long. For me, it is now in danger of becoming too long." Sturgeon said as First Minister you are "never off duty", that there is "virtually no privacy" and doing ordinary things like "going for a coffee with friends" becomes very difficult.

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From RTÉ News, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announces resignation

Her resignation has come as a shock. But what actually makes a good resignation speech? We can look to ancient Greece for the answer. The principles of a classic resignation speech probably date back to the 4th century BC, says Dr Brian Murphy, lecturer in communications at TU Dublin. Aristotle's ancient greek treatise on civic discourse, called Rhetoric, set out three pillars of what makes a great speech and these still apply today, particularly to resignation speeches.

A resignation speech should touch on all three; ethos, logos and pathos. Ethos essentially means character; it’s about the speaker's credibility and authority, says Murphy. Depending on the circumstances, if you’re applying the maxim that all political careers end in failure, then a lot of resignation speeches — whether you look at Thatcher, Nixon, or whoever else — they come back then to moral authority. The political authority is already ebbing because they’re about to resign and the moral authority may be under assault — particularly if the person is resigning in controversial circumstances."

From CBS News, Richard Nixon's resignation speech in 1974

Logos is about appealing to the logic of the audience. "There are two forms of valid arguments: one, in nearly every resignation speech a resigning leader will try to validate their own tenure and set out their own achievements. I'd be amazed if in any resignation speech, it doesn't point to a couple of big achievements that they have."

"I think it was the poet Tennyson who said: "authority forgets a dying king". From that moment you resign, your political support has ebbed and it's left to you then to set out your own achievements. It will be a resigning leader’s attempt at a first draft of history."

From BBC Newsnight archives, the day Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigned in 1990

"The other one is they will try to give valid reasons for their own resignation. It will inevitably be, trying to convince the audience that the resignation is for the common good. It's not just to suit themselves or because they have run out of political road, but this is in the wider public interest. I'd be surprised if political leaders are saying they're resigning because "I'm sick of this" and "I'm resigning because all support was gone". They probably will set out they’re resigning because they want to change the political dynamic; somebody else can bring new energy to the job; it's time for a fresh pair of pair of hands," he says.

The third element is pathos, which comes from the Greek word for emotion. "All human beings are emotional beings. I don't want to say the language that would be used would be about generating sympathy, it's certainly about generating appreciation for the resigning leader's position. A leader will try to do that not just in terms of using persuasive words but what comes into the scale then is the persons likability; years of service; the manner in which they are leaving; and, also emotion that's on display; if there’s an inflection in the voice where they’re clearly emotional or whether there’s a tear."

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From RTÉ Archives, Charles Haughey announces he is leaving public life (broadcast 2 October, 1992)

Both Ardern and Sturgeon appealed to humanity, reminding people of the stress and difficulty of public life, saying respectively: "I am human, politicians are human" and "I am a human being as well as a politician." This appeal to humanity is possibly a more modern development. "I think maybe there's a new appreciation for how hard a job politicians have. To operate in the modern political environment at that level for an extended period — I think people see that there are stresses and strains there," says Murphy.

Famously, politicians often borrow from poetry -- such as Seamus Heaney -- or literature to deliver their message. As a senator in 1958, John F Kennedy said "if more politicians knew poetry, and more poets knew politics, I am convinced the world would be a little better place to live". Announcing his retirement from public life in 1992, Taoiseach Charles Haughey quoted from the closing lines of Shakespeare's Othello in his speech when he said: "I have done the state some service; they know't/No more of that."

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From RTÉ Archives, Bertie Ahern announces resignation as Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil (broadcast 2 April, 2008)

Regardless of what kind of speech it is, people are looking for a memorable line that's going to be remembered, says Murphy. "The words stick in my mind from Haughey's speech — If you're going to quote somebody it has to have credibility and it has to have meaning.

"When he made his resignation or valedictory speech to the Dáil, even his political opponents were prepared to acknowledge that he had done the State some service. Probably nobody else in Irish politics would get away with using that quote now. People would probably identify that quote with Haughey rather than Shakespeare now at this stage."

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ