We often hear that politics has now become a communications game. Besides the PM's, admittedly, successful involvement with TikTok and the huge election win of the unknown Stefanos Kasselakis, the above phrase certainly contains a large dose of truth. However, it seems that at the opposite end of the communication strategy lies ideology, with the two often coming into conflict.
Before explaining how this conflict arises, however, it is useful to explain the two terms. First, ideology is the set of moral rules and values that govern the party. It tends to define the rationale behind its decisions and is its basic identifying element, with which the voter can connect. Greece's transition to democracy was very deeply rooted to ideology in the beginning. That is why at the time the left-right (or sometimes right and anti-right) polarization was so dominant.
However, modern political culture is gradually moving away from this dichotomy and instead tends to be dominated by communication. With the term communication I refer to the phenomenon where party's decisions and actions is governed by a marketing logic. The tendency, in this case, is for the parliamentary work and action plans of the parties not to be limited by ideology but to be structured based on what will be best received by the public. A good example is New Democracy, which, while being a party in favor of free capitalism, has distributed various stimulus packages. These, while contradicting the ideology of ND, give an immediate communication boost, since they constitute a small respite from high prices. Thus, although the measure is not in line with the government's ideology, it manages to be popular nonetheless.
This move may have temporary success, but it also creates problems. When ideology becomes decorative, people live in the uncertainty of what to expect from each party. Thus, in the absence of ideology, predictability is missing. For the public, predictability means less uncertainty and anyone's ability to plan their life based on specific constants. The death of ideology, of course, destroys these constants. Along with these constants, of course, it destroys any and all distinction among parties. This is because when the parties' ideologies are bound by communication, then everything will tend to become the same.
Many believe that this is a positive thing. They believe that as ideology dies, the more technocratic and objective the government work in our country will become. Certainly, the hard ideological line on some issues is not necessary, making some flexibility really useful. However, despite the allure of this technocratism, the lack of ideology hides many dangers.
Specifically, it is impossible to have a sound governance strategy if it suits you to be left-wing on some things and right-wing on others, because you will necessarily have conflicting measures and laws. But even so, with serious planning, some correct compromises can be made. However, this is not the case when communication is the only priority. Because in communication, whatever "sells" wins. So if something that sells is in contrast to the original plan, there is a clear conflict of interest, in which the plan is rejected in favour of the communications solution.
This way, the next logical step is to enquire about the effectiveness of the measures. Based onommunication logic, the priority is not to find solutions effective in problem-solving but rather solutions effective in raising public opinion. However, solutions to major social problems do not come with quick fixes, but only with ambitious plans, patience and vision.
Therefore, these must come first. Political leadership cannot be all polls and focus groups. It must also be self-sufficient. It is no coincidence that people talk about a lack of leaders today. When everything is done to please people not solve their problems, then one cannot be a leader. Leaders must make also make difficult and unpopular decisions, because that is what the people have entrusted them to do.
Communication is useful in advertising government work. It cannot be the end goal.
