Positive politics
Jun. 8th, 2008 02:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhythmaningI recently had to find an address for someone – I needed to send them a document for work. Their name rang a bell; all sorts of bells, actually, but it was only when I googled her name and found her website that I remembered a friend of mine had done some freelancing for the Centre for Confidence.
Browsing her blog, I read a comment that the SNP had engaged consultants in last year’s Scottish election. (Typically – and most irritating – I can’t now find the comment, despite searching high and low.)
Essentially, it said the in the run up to the election, their consultants told the SNP to focus on the positive – about everything. They had to be seen as positive no matter what.
This contrasted greatly with the campaign run by the incumbent Labour Party – as this comment on Guido’s blog points out.
Another comment on a positive psychology blog makes the same point – although this time about the negative attitude taken by the media (in this case, the Sun).
As a result, Labour looked like they were running scared throughout their campaign, because they focused on the negative aspects of an SNP victory, whilst the SNP appeared as the party of vision – and a bright, positive vision at that.
I find this very, very interesting. It seemed to tie up some loose ends – not least about the practical aspects of positive psychology; and it joined things up in a neat circle.
Browsing her blog, I read a comment that the SNP had engaged consultants in last year’s Scottish election. (Typically – and most irritating – I can’t now find the comment, despite searching high and low.)
Essentially, it said the in the run up to the election, their consultants told the SNP to focus on the positive – about everything. They had to be seen as positive no matter what.
This contrasted greatly with the campaign run by the incumbent Labour Party – as this comment on Guido’s blog points out.
Another comment on a positive psychology blog makes the same point – although this time about the negative attitude taken by the media (in this case, the Sun).
As a result, Labour looked like they were running scared throughout their campaign, because they focused on the negative aspects of an SNP victory, whilst the SNP appeared as the party of vision – and a bright, positive vision at that.
I find this very, very interesting. It seemed to tie up some loose ends – not least about the practical aspects of positive psychology; and it joined things up in a neat circle.