It’s easy to become caught up in election cycles in party politics, and representative democracy more broadly. Results need to be now, not later. But prioritising rapid (and often fleeting) political results, usually has an opportunity cost that is far more valuable.
Pause before you pounce
Let’s imagine a scenario. We’re up against the wall, in opposition, three months out from an election and five points down in every poll. Then something happens. Something that presents a fork in the road. A senior member of the governing party makes a mistake. Perhaps they’re caught on a hot mic. Perhaps there’s an unpopular policy leak. Or, perhaps, they’re the minister in charge of dealing with a crisis, and let’s just say, it isn’t going well.
Conventional political wisdom presents this as an opportunity to make up those five points, and then some. Conventional wisdom would suggest kicking up a bit of a fuss, going on TV and hammering home the idea that your opponents don’t know what they’re doing.
Of course that might be just what you needed. Just the right hit combo to reverse the polls.
Maybe.
Don’t risk your reputation for short-term gain
It might also backfire horribly, resulting in disastrous consequences. if you misread the room and the moment, you may be perceived as ‘playing politics’, which, to be fair, is exactly what you were doing.
Going straight for the numbers all the time in politics is a bit like trying to become a billionaire by starting a new business every week — you constantly risk tripping over yourself, you never really give any single idea a real chance at success and it doesn’t look great to outside observers. All anyone sees is an individual (or an organisation) without a real soul or clear mission.Yet, for some reason, that continues to be ‘politics as usual’ for so many parties.
Here’s another analogy. Consider the ‘traditional’ manner of playing politics as being similar to gambling — endlessly putting coins into a machine that may or may not pay out. Even if it does pay out, you’ll be lucky to make your money back. Up one day. Down the next. Long term, the house always wins. And long term, all you’ll ever do is oscillate back and forth over mediocre results.
For steady growth, focus on tangible impact
But what happens if we focus on meaningful policy objectives and impact? Consistency, a reliable base of support and steady growth — that’s what happens.
If focusing on results is a gamble, then playing politics the ‘impact-focused’ way is like having a sound budget. Sure, you could go out every week and blast all your money (or political capital) away. Maybe it’ll pay out this week. Maybe it’ll put you ahead. But that’s just a maybe. If all your money goes towards the stuff you need or want this week, then there won’t be anything left in the tank when you really need it. And trust me, you need it.
There’s a popular myth that the public has a short memory. The truth, however, is that the media has a short attention span. The focus might shift and it might tug the zeitgeist one way or another. But at the end of the day, the stuff that matters, always matters.
That’s why every election, for all the tumult of the previous months and years, ultimately boils down to the core and important issues of the time. Stay on target. Stay on message. Impact people’s lives in meaningful ways. And bank that political capital away. It might not affect the polls tomorrow. But it’s what will make the difference when it matters — for the electorate, and for your party.