Page 49 - Enabling National Initiatives to Take Democracy Beyond Elections

When NOT to use this approach The golden rule is that you haven’t already made the decision. Secondly, the issue can’t have reached such a position of controversy that the public no longer believe the sentence above! If you have, then people holding the opposing view will need to join you in supporting this process as a way of moving beyond the stalemate. Thirdly, make sure you have time. Citizens who feel in any way rushed to a decision will think ‘the fix is in’ and be open to describing their mistrust. By design, it is operationally impossible to get a random group of people to stand behind a decision they don’t support: this is actually a key integrity measure. But this nuance can be lost: if there is a wide public belief that you will take a given decision anyway, then this is not the time. 47