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What term can one use in as situation where politicians create an artificial crisis which they solve later on to gain some political mileage?

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    There is a term, firefighter arson, which you could use if you make it an analogy.
    – aparente001
    Commented May 23, 2017 at 2:00

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I have not found an existing definition for this (without implying different circumstances like "instigator" or "self made hero").

But I've used "Firestarter firefighter" in the past. It was the best description I could think of at the time (note that I'm not a native English speaker)

I googled whether that's an actual definition, and while I could not find any official confirmation, I did find this. It basically describes the type of person you're talking about.

But I can't think of a single word to encapsulate the behavior. The article I linked seemingly cannot either.

Edit: I thought of using "pyromaniac firefighter", but I think this alternative loses the inherent implication that the starting of the fire is intentional rather than compulsive. ALthough it can fit too, depending on who the politician is, I guess :)

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  • I was thinking "false flag" but that doesn't quite fit.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Commented May 17, 2017 at 14:44
  • @PoloHoleSet: It's the same principle, so you're right. I thought of it too. But I can't find a way to put that into a description of a person.
    – Flater
    Commented May 18, 2017 at 7:22
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Inslee
Jay Inslee
Political playbook

These are some words that come to mind. The Long Term Care Staffing Shortage was/is a perfect example of politicians doing exactly this.

In my case, our governor, Jay Inslee was warned that the policies he's making are going to exacerbate the shortage & make an existing problem even worse. He did not listen and, of course, things got way worse. So he had to approve more training programs- which has its own issues.)

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    Your example doesn't seem to correspond to the OP's situation. Besides, how many people do you think would equate that (obscure?) name with hat specific part of their career? In other words, how useful is it?
    – Joachim
    Commented Oct 9, 2023 at 6:06
  • Yes, Dan. ELU deals with established usages, and D-I-Y suggestions are for some other websites who aren't as concerned about sticking to established usage, and credibility. That's fine, but we benefit from having both types of site.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Oct 9, 2023 at 14:55
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Hero syndrome is a term for this. Wikipedia defines it as "a psychological disorder that causes a person to seek recognition for heroism, especially by creating a harmful situation in which they then can resolve. This can include unlawful acts, such as arson. The term has been used to describe behavior of public servants, such as firefighters, nurses, police officers, security guards and politicians."

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