* Id: Electioneering * Revision: 1 * State: edited * * Log: * Revision 1 1997/02/24 Aaron Rice * Edited by Roel van der Meulen. (I do not have the original version, or * an author-approved version.) 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456 %t Electioneering, The Art Of %n 8R %s How To Win The Votes %a Aaron Rice (a.rice@ukonline.co.uk) %d 19970224 %x Writing Style Of A Tabloid Journalist %i Art Of Electioneering %i Winning Votes %i Votes, Winning %i Elections, Winning %e The elections are coming; the next big test of a government's popularity approaches. That's enough to send the slivers right up the spine of any party in power that has been effectively sitting on their arses for most of their term, and have only risen to affect their voters to their detriment. [* Remember John's comments? Could you rewrite this paragraph so that it's more general (for those countries who have a democracy with a multi-party system), especially now you can be content that your one's over :) *] But how can you turn this into a platform for another emphatic victory? This is where the art of electioneering comes into play. The phrase "know thine enemy" has never been more valuable. The basis of the art is to turn the focus from your own problems and point them towards those of your competitors. Further, if you are in the unfortunate position to have an opposition that have no visible failings, your task becomes that of creating in the mind of ^^^^[* Correct tense? *] the voter fears and paranoias that don't currently exist, or are at least laying dormant. You are advised here to seek the advice of a psychologist, and start stuffing envelopes and passing them to important "friends" [1]. [* I don't get the envelope bit. *] Creating fears is actually incredibly easy. Firstly, imagine you are a normal person. Think of the thing that worries you the most. Personal security? Money? Try to focus on something you haven't already damaged, yourself [2]. Then, think of the worst way in which this area can be attacked. Take money for example; what would happen if taxes went up? There you go! You can then embark on a campaign directed against your opposition's imaginary excessive tax plans. "Don't vote for them, they'll tax the hell out of you," is a good slogan. It is always a good idea to play on uncertainty. Most people work on the "better the devil you know" principal which states that no matter how bad things are now, it's better than having something you've never had before; fear of the unknown is very effective. This can still be used if your opposition are making their policies clear; you will just have to push at it hard enough. Remember: if you say something often enough, people will believe it. Always, make sure you have sections of the media on your side. Tabloid newspapers are particularly useful, and provide inroads into the "common man" [3]. It is particularly the case here that you might wish to appeal to latent stupidity, by using ridiculously flimsy arguments doused in lies, dressed up with attention grabbing headlines. Also, some tabloids will help you by placing distractive pictures, which may take your attention away after reading only part if a sentence. Take the following: * "Opposition bid to abolish worker's rights..." And drift. Drift far across to the picture of a cow with a large tattoo on its face. Catch the headline "Win Thousands". Drift. Drift. Of course, the line probably read something like: * "Opposition bid to abolish worker's rights to be forced to work more than 24 hours a day." But you will never know. It is sometimes also the case that the more significant part of a report will lie in the very last line, and therefore is read by 89% less people than read the first. The most important thing to remember is always _panic_. Play on panic, propagate panic, take advantage of panic. Fear is a great motivator. [1] A "friend" in politics is not a friend in the normal sense of the word. To define the word: those whom will ally with you for whatever reason, and which you have at least reasonable control over, through positive incentive or blackmail. [2] If you have damaged everything you can think of, embark on a campaign of "reeducation", paying off the odd analyst here-and-there to keep telling people that the events of the last few years were "all in the mind". [3] A man or woman who is regarded as a "typical representative" of those you wish you persuade to vote for you. %e *EOA* Having been able to follow the British elections, I know exactly what you're talking about. However, I do get the feeling that this article is very specific to the situation in your country. Think what you really want to say with this article (other than criticising the tories for their election campaign) and read it again. Roel