Speak for the government? (5)
I believe the answer is:
state
This clue is a double definition.
'speak' is the first definition.
(thesaurus)
'the government?' is the second definition.
(government is a kind of state)
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for state that I've seen before include "Declare: condition" , "Specify condition" , "Declare; affirm" , "Public" , "Say; country" .)