On the 17th of April, a group of delegates were joined by professional political campaigner Annika Arras for a master class on the subject. The enthusiasm of our guest speaker helped to inspire and educate the delegates.
In the session, Annika introduced herself and then described the different politicians she has worked with, one of these being the previous Prime Minister of Estonia, and countries she has worked in. She disclosed her future hopes for her career and explained how she is campaigning in Iraq at the moment.
For a start, we went over the different important ways to achieve being a winning party, explaining the need for unity, trust and more. She explained why these were such important factors of a winning candidate and how each plays off each other. If you are missing one quality, the campaign can be harmed incredibly and the likelihood of losing the election is increased. We then started talking about how these qualities can be made or brought out in a party, and how political campaigners aim to highlight these qualities to ensure a win in the election.
The important history of independence in Estonia was also brought up when referencing Estonia’s famous first colour printed campaigning leaflet in 1995, post-Soviet control. The bright yellow of this first ever leaflet has continued through the Reform parties campaigning for years and they still stick to this colour to this day. Annika explained the importance of this significant continuity of colour in proving a unified and classic party choice to voters. Through this, and through Annikas campaigning tactics, she has managed to provide strong campaigns for past prime ministers of the Reform party in Estonia, leading them to victory. The session pointed out the importance of a political campaign and the importance of that job in the field of politics. No candidates would get anywhere if they did no campaigning, just as they wouldn’t achieve victory on low monetary funds for the campaign. Many factors cause a party’s election win. While all countries’ voting and electoral systems are different, the one thing in common, the one thing needed, is a strong political campaign.
The masterclass was very beneficial to all the delegates taking part, they learnt a lot and maybe even some skills they will use in the future. Thank you to Annika Arras for brilliantly presenting this interesting topic and career. We are also very grateful to D’DIFFERENCE for providing us with gift bags for the guests visiting masterclasses.
Author: Ruby Longley