Crisis management is a highwire-balancing act without a safety net; one wrong step and your political life could be over. Successful tiptoeing along the suspended wire might just buy you the thrill of strong public endorsement and the envy of your peers. From a democratic governance perspective, two competing dimensions must be balanced in order to enjoy the fruits of the thrill. One element of good governance is the capacity to deal effectively with crises affecting the security of societies and the safety of people. Another necessary element is the ability to strengthen the legitimacy of democratic governance through crisis-management actions within the realm of publicly accepted laws, norms and practices. Consequential actions based on urgency and immediacy must pass the scrutiny of post-crisis investigations and the ensuing accountability debates. In high-stakes situations, your leadership integrity is being put to the test—and in full public view

Crisis management also stands between stability and change. Many of the operational concerns of crisis performers are focused on dealing with traumatic events in terms of threats to political stability, public order or economic disaster. The slide is not long in crises from defending stability to becoming locked into a posture of rigidity. The imminent threat of fundamental change is then met by avoidance or by draconian measures. This fixation on ensuring stability is merely one side of the calculus of high-performance crisis management.

Leader rigidity in the face of political or financial challenges can be counterproductive to system-level transformations benefiting society and citizens. One question is often asked ex post facto by informed observers, such as scholars or journalists: a crisis for whom? As the responsible leader of the union, you should also raise this fundamental and thorny issue, while in the midst of crisis coping. What are the stakes and who are the stakeholders of this unfolding event? Where do I, as the temporary caretaker of the union of 27 democratic societies, fit into this unfolding script of turmoil between stability and change? Taking the time for some strategic reflection while in the eye of the storm is a good investment in a political future after the crisis has passed.

Crisis leadership presumes the skill to balance often overwhelming information and expert recommendations with other equally important perspectives. Sensitivity to the wider political and indeed international landscape within and beyond the union is an important quality. A robust normative compass is a source of inner strength. Political leadership often means the ability to grasp and connect with the fleeting public view of what constitutes a reasonable course of action in a given high-stakes situation. Crises offer windows of opportunity to move a nation or a union and to be able to take credit for having done so.