For lessons on risk management, take a leaf out of Enda’s book

WHAT do Taoiseach Enda Kenny and General David Petraeus have in common?

No, not the marital infidelity thing. Perish the thought and you’re a disgrace for thinking it, so you are.

What they actually have in common is that each was approached by a writer with a view to co-operating on an account of their life. Such co-operation carries a rake of advantages for the public figure. It allows them to explain the rationale behind decisions, to correct misapprehensions and — by virtue of regular contact with the writer — to exercise some level of control over the telling of their story. Unless the public figure plans to pen their autobiography in the immediate future and doesn’t want to help the competition, helping the writer has a lot going for it.