Steinmeier, You're no Barack Obama

Clay Risen takes the piss out of Germany's mainstream political parties for their interweb-Luddism:

But for all the leading parties' talk of digital politics, their Web strategies are just that: talk. Their blogs are Potemkin Web sites -- the posts are just rehashed news releases -- and their Facebook groups often have fewer friends than the average American teenager. The parties still think that the Web is just an advertising tool, not a way to raise money, activate volunteers or create a movement behind their candidates. As one official from Germany's center-right Christian Democrats told me bluntly: "It's not for the voters. Most of it is just to show the newspapers that we're modern and relevant."

But if European politicians don't understand the political power of the Internet, others do. Fewer and fewer Europeans are involved in mainstream politics, and they are moving more of their daily lives online. The result is a gap between the public and the European political center, one that fringe groups are eager to exploit. Right-wing extremists are becoming increasingly sophisticated online organizers. They've made great strides in Germany and elsewhere using the tools of online culture -- song downloads, games, social networking -- to spread their message. Europe's digital generation might not like politicians, but that doesn't mean it isn't political. And if the mainstream politicians don't connect with young voters soon, someone else will.

Later in the piece, Risen mentions another quaint feature of German society -- the political party as a social gathering nexus. I've even been privileged with the sight of the little red 'Party Book' of a faithful Social Democrat, complete with stamps and signatures showing regular dues payments!

Comments

[NM]

But consider that while the US election showed that you can build a tremendously powerful election campaign online, the aftermath seems to indicate that these also easily fade. Where are the Obamaniacs when he needs them now, on health care and climate change? Give me a solid, well-organised party or other institutionalised movement with deep(ish) roots in local society any time over some fleeting online campaign!

[Junger Gott]

2 Thoughts:
1. I found it interesting - to say the least - that Risen would describe German politicians as "pensioners".

I think if you compare the average age of members of the Bundestag to United States Senators, you will probably find the Germans to be younger by at least 10 years. Strom Thurmond anyone?

2. Ok, Obama had this fancy shmancy online campaign going on. But would he have been elected without it? Judging by his huge margin, I would say yes. So I think much of the campaign was in fact nothing but a giant waste of time and money.

[Aaron Strontsman]

In a way, the "National Democrats" are forced to use the web, since traditional mainstream news channels won't give them as large an as they would like, even though these parties might not even like all these new-fangled "Zwitscher"¹ shitzz². Anyway, I am impressed by their onlining skillzz² indeed.

>"It's not for the voters. Most of it is just to show the newspapers
>that we're modern and relevant."
I'd understand that quote differently than the article author does: Germans just aren't relying on the internet as much as Americans do (which is an oft-lamented point on this blog, ganz neben dem Weg).

--
¹I'll assume this is what they call Twitter -- "email", they still call "E-Post"; the "web", they call "Weltnetz".
² sorry.

[Michael]

It is true. Most german politicians seriously underestimate the world wide web as a platform for their election campaigns whereas right extremist agenda is spread widely over the web. The NPD (a german xenophobic extremist party) provides on its website a so-called "Schoolyard-CD" for downloading whose songs have lyrics of very dubious content. For the young there is even a comic strip called "Enten gegen Hühner" (Ducks vs. Chickens)illustrating the uprising of an opressed "race" of strikingly light-skinned ducks against their dark-skinned chicken-opressors. Such badly concealed racist propaganda is however presented in an appealing and modern way.
The established german parties are outpaced by their non-democratic opponents when it comes to presenting their by far more noble political positions in the web. They should accept the challenge and better learn fast how to use the internet to lead an election campaign. If they leave this field to the extremists this could lead to a future no one can wish for.