Page 169 - The Professionalisation of Political Communication Chaning Media, Changing Europe Volume 3

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166 | THE PROFESSIONALISM OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

market research to investigate the preferences of the public, and when in power, they
put at the centre of their politics communication and popular measures. Recognising
the importance of the media and public sphere, they strove to totally eradicate the
opposition parties from the Hungarian public sphere.

The Alliance of Young Democrats was the product of the political transition, not
comparable in their origin, in their social contacts, in their organisation, or in their aims
or forms of activity to the other parties in Hungary (Fritz, 2000). It was dubbed the
‘answering machine’ or ‘media party’ early in its development, terms that referred not
only to its communication abilities, but also to its party organisation. The Young
Democrats were able to turn a seeming disadvantage, their small membership, into an
advantage. A small organisation can be held together by different kinds of links than
those of an impersonal,larger party.

The introduction of a new type of professional campaigning can be associated with the
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leader of the Young Democrats, Viktor Orbán. He was a young charismatic leader, a
representative of the new generation of politicians, and untouched by the previous
regime’s compromises. He was backed by a small team of reliable friends, former
college-mates, a carefully selected and loyal professional apparatus, and with the aid of
modern campaign and PR methods, successfully led to victory the then collapsing
right-wing forces. He introduced a totally new style of political communication: first a
very simplified but pragmatic political speech with metaphors and emotional elements,
which later included more and more ceremonial and historical elements. He turned
directly to the people and their families, disregarding the role of the different interest
mediating institutions – even that of the parties.

The Professionalisation of Political Communication
At the heart of the party was a small ‘hard core’ of 6 or 7 people, who had formed a
close alliance since their years at university in the beginning of the 1980s.The eminence
grise at the side of the party leader, Viktor Orbán (prime minister, 1998–2002) was his
personal communications adviser, a Hungarian consultant, András Wermer.Wermer was
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not formally employed by the party and only joined the party leader at its nadir
(1994–96) and at the point when the party leader, Orban, put together his larger
advisory team, and succeeded in creating a loose alliance of the fragments of the right-
wing parties.

Beside him there were the young businesslike Hungarian professionals who were
occupied with practical tasks of the party’s political communication – they had just left
university, Hungarian and foreign, and acted according to the marketing textbooks.
There were even rumours, largely unconfirmed, about foreign experts helping the
Young Democrats – for example,in 2002 allegedly sent from Italy,from Berlusconi.

Close personal connections and modern principles of effective organisation were
supplemented by the party’s own think-tank and political educational organisation
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