Just back from Berlin where I ran a Surf School workshop at the Deutscher Multimedia Kongress. One of the most interesting conversations focused on whether Barak Obama’s style of political campaigning could or should work in a German context. Understandably, given their relatively recent history, most Germans are wary of what they described to me in the workshop as ‘emotion based politics.’
I showed them the Will I Am ‘Yes we can’ video and, without exception, everyone in the workshop said that they would feel very uncomfortable if a German political campaign adopted a similar tone. They are taught in school about the dangers of appealing to the crowd through pure emotion, rather than a rational argument, which is why they like their politicians to be calm and unflamboyant. It is a pity for Gordon Brown that he is not a German politician, as his lack of style or charisma would probably be considered a virtue in the Reichstag.