Too Soon to Write off Politics?

One of the most interesting things about the Iowa caucuses was the sharply increased turnout, notably on the Democratic side. The pundits are putting this down mainly to the participation of Barack Obama, who seems to be attracting many younger people to his cause. Certainly, with three strong candidates competing for the Democratic nomination, this is a far more interesting contest than usual. The Republicans have some colourful characters in the running as well. So I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the tournout in the November US presidential elections shows a significant rise as well.

Across the Western democratic world, there have been laments in recent years about the way that an ever-growing part of the population has become disengaged from politics. And amongst the young, political activity is not often seen as being ‘cool’. Yet there are signs that warnings of the demise of democratic participation are premature. In France’s last presidential election, for example, the turnout was well up. Such examples show that if there are candidates who excite people, or policies which enthuse them, then they are ready to declare their preferences.

Nick Clegg has already identified the need to reach out to those people who are currently uninvolved in or uninspired by politics. It will be fascinating to see how he does this. He probably knows that his credibility rests on his ability to deliver results quickly. But as a beginning, his team could do worse than analysing the Obama phenomenon, to see what can be learned. Obama is not fighting a ‘black’ campaign, but a campaign that can resonate with all Americans. Similarly, Nick Clegg must fight a campaign that not only appeals to the professional white middle class, but to the whole of the British people, in all their glorious diversity.