Senator John Edwards

US Senator John Edwards has this advice about winning a future election in an age of informality – don’t sound like a politician, at least in the USA.

Neville Hobson believes that many politicians over here might share the same view, but wouldn’t admit to it publicly.

This is his extract from Edwards:

“The problem is that we’re so trained and so conditioned over a long period of time that being normal and real and authentic requires you to shed that conditioning,� Edwards said of politicians. “It is not an easy thing to do.� Edwards then alluded to the next presidential election. “My own view is the next president of the United States, or certainly the one after, is likely to be the single candidate who doesn’t sound like a politician,� he said. “I want to tell you on a personal level, I’m trying every way I know how not to do it. We’ve been trained to do the wrong thing,� he concluded. “That’s the problem.�

Hobson goes on to say that David Miliband and Margot Wallstrom might be close to “not sounding like a politician”. As I’ve said before, Wallstrom writes a very spirited and open blog, while Miliband’s is just a ministerial post.

Melanie Phillips today also writes about the present state of the Tories, quoting Francis Maude as saying the “party’s transformation needed to be wider, deeper and faster.”

In fact, what politicians need is to have sound policies and connect to the public, to listen to their constituents and represent them well, acknowledge all their correspondance, get out to the grass roots and talk to people. The should not patronise their constituents, never take them for granted and should support their campaigns. They should certainly communicate with them regularly and update them about local issues they are working on, demonstrate how hard working they are. And, of course, be honest. A glowing example is Grant Shapps who runs a brilliant interactive forum for his Welwyn Hatfield constituents and fulfils all this criteria.