There of course wasn’t anything particularly revolutionary or new about Barack Obama’s campaign themes of change and hope and Yes We Can and all the rest of it. But Obama’s phenomenal success was sure to attract message-starved imitators around the world. Netanyahu copied Obama’s entire campaign website during the Israeli elections. Even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad knew enough to steal a good political slogan when he saw one. And it’s not just politicians: If you can sell more voters with hope and change, you can certainly sell more Pepsi.
The British general election, which was just scheduled for May 6, looks like it’ll be rather familiar as well.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, seeking a fourth consecutive term for his Labor Party, can’t exactly position himself as Mr. Change. So his message centers around the extraordinary awesomeness of the status quo, and warns voters not to change a damn thing for fear of ruining all his hard work:
"Britain is on the road to recovery and nothing we do should put that recovery at risk," Brown said today.
Brown’s opponents, however, are hoping and changing all over the damn place. Tory leader David Cameron is in fact so hopeful about change and hope that he cannot seem to say anything else:
He was cheered by supporters as he urged them to tell voters there is “a modern Conservative alternative that is about voting for hope, voting for optimism, voting for change”.
Mr Cameron added: “This country deserves a lot better than five more years of Gordon Brown, and that is what we must offer. So let’s get out there and say ‘Let’s get off this road to ruin and instead get on the path to prosperity and progress’.
“Let’s fight for what we believe in. Let’s take the case to the country, to the people of this country, about hope, optimism and change. And let’s win this election for the good of the country that we love.”
Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, not only promised change, but real change:
Lib Dem leader Mr Clegg said the election campaign would not be a "two-horse race" between the two biggest parties, and people were "crying out for something different".
He said it would be a choice "between more of the same from the old parties… or real change, something different from the Liberal Democrats".
And as befits a perennial distant third party contender, Clegg advocated just changing everything as much as humanly possible:
"I think we just need to do something new this time," he added.
Aww, I’m sure you do Mr. Clegg.
Depending on which poll you look at, Cameron and the Tories are either well ahead, or just barely ahead. The real question is whether the Tories can earn an outright majority, which would let them skip having to cobble together a legislative coalition. The month-long election season should prove to be pretty exciting, and I plan to keep a close eye on it. Or, allow me to phrase that as a question: Should the election season prove to be pretty exciting? Yes It Should! And can I keep a close eye on it? Why Yes, I Can! There’s no way that can get annoying so I’ll keep doing it. Hey, it worked out great for Mahmoud.
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