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136 | THE PROFESSIONALISM OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

during the last decade. In a country where the leader acts as a personification of his
party, in eras of high intensity of political preferences, the pollsters’candidates may give
the party ticket to someone acceptable.As Samaras notes:

On either occasion, the choice of the candidate aims to affect what the party stands
for (i.e., the product enhances the brand).Thus, after the death of Papandreou, PASOK
elected Simitis as its new leader because the connotations of modernity and
effectiveness attached to him would make the party more electable,a choice that was
proved wise both in the 1996 and in the 2000 elections… In 1996, N[ew] D[emocracy]
elected Kostas Karamanlis because his image of youth could attack connotations of
‘new’,‘modern’and ‘near to the people’and thus helps re-brand ND (2002,p.171).

The polls for Simitis were showing that PASOK would lose the coming elections under
his leadership.Two months before the national elections,Simitis stepped down and was
replaced by George Papandreou, a popular politician in the polls. His image as a young,
popular and friendly politician was seen as the antidote to PASOK’s opponent,
Karamanlis. This confirms that, within a party-centred political regime such as the Greek
Karamanlis.The confirms that, within a party-centred political regime such as the Greek
one, the personal qualities of the party leader intertwine with the connotations
attached to a party label and the ‘use of the issues to formulate the image of the party’
(Samaras,2002,p.170).

… AND GOVERNMENT NEWS MANAGEMENT
Following the developments in other countries and with the dominance of the media
in Greek society, the government, especially since the late 1990s, has tried to adopt and
implement a public relations and communication strategy.While in the past there were
a few information officers, their number has considerably increased in all ministries,
The Professionalisation of Political Communication
mainly consisting of journalists. In 1994 the Ministry of the Press and the Media was
formed,with the Minister to act in most cases as the government’s spokesperson,rather
than as a minister who tries to form and implement the government’s policy on the
communication sector.

On the other hand, most government ministries have formed their own press office, again
consisting of journalists and,to a much lesser extent,of specialised civil servants,in order to
inform the public. Since the late 1990s, and the preparation of the Olympics, and major
construction work co-financed by the European Union, the government publicises its
achievements directly through commercial adverts.These state adverts are a considerable
source of revenue for the media, and it was noted that most of them (and money) were
directed towards ‘friendly’ media. There is also a law (2328 of 1995) that demands that
about 40% of state adverts for the press should be directed to the local press media.

THE‘NEW’ RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN POLITICIANS AND THE MEDIA
The media have also assumed a central role in day-to-day politics. Throughout the
1990s, members of the Parliament and other politicians have attached increasing
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