Watching the Canadian election results last night was mildly frustrating (and a bit dull). And ending up with essentially the same House we had before the vote was called is a strong message from ‘the people’ to politicians of all stripes – no matter how they may try to ‘spin’ it.
From a communications perspective, it offers all parties a potential opportunity to win back the electorate, rebuild their reputations and credibility, and create a vision for our country. But they need to begin from the ground up.
Here’s what I would suggest:
- Define yourself and what you stand for; and please make it intelligent, meaningful and heartfelt
- Show us you have integrity; start small and keep it up to demonstrate you’re serious
- Be honest, transparent and believable when you’re delivering your messages
- Not everyone is a leader; choose someone who can speak to and to inspire both individuals and large crowds
- It’s OK to answer questions directly, even if you say you don’t have a response just yet
- Start telling your story; not selling it
- It’s all about relationships; not opponent-bashing or trading favours
In the meantime, if you want to read about a reluctant, yet idealistic politician in a satire that may be a bit too prescient, try Terry Fallis’s hilarious Leacock award winning novel, The Best Laid Plans.
It was interesting to see (if not hear) Sandra Buckler, former communications director of Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the CTV News “experts” panel on election night. That’s the first time in my memory that a communications person was used in that role. (It’s usually past politicians, government relations peeps, pollsters, polysci profs, etc.) Also interesting was the fact that I heard her speak more that night (and, truth be told, the non-CTV panel members weren’t used too much that night) than I could recall during her entire tenure in the director of comms role.I also see CTV is claiming the highest ratings:http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2008/15/c6307.html