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THE PROFESSIONALISATION OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN EUROPE | 37

We need, therefore, to understand the process of professionalisation in a much more
complex way, and in a way that acknowledges that political parties change their
organisational structures over time and as they confront new challenges. They are
never static – or at least, never static if they wish to survive and thrive. But these
changes are multifaceted: parties use all available technologies; parties change as their
membership structure changes; parties change as their resources change; and they
change their campaigning in line with new practices.

This way of approaching the topic is implied in Peter Mair’s work on the changing
nature of political parties in Europe.As he puts it:

… as the age of the amateur democrat has waned, and as the less grounded and
…as the age of the amateur democrat has waned, and as the less grounded and
more capital-intensive party organisations have come increasingly under the sway of
professional consultants, marketing experts, and campaigners, they have clearly
improved both the pace and the extent to which they can adapt to changes in their
external environments. These may not be attractive parties, especially in the eyes of
those who mourn the passing of the golden age of the mass party; they may even be
seen as quite unrepresentative parties; but, in these terms at least, they are certainly
more effective (1998,p.11). 6

This is not the place to discuss in detail Mair’s analysis of the transition of parties from
amateur parties to ‘cartel parties’though it is important to note that his depiction of the
‘electoral-professional’ party is a party that is a professionally run political organisation
with tenuous links to a (declining) membership.Such developments are the outcome of
numerous forces (see Table 1) and this suggests that we need to explore the
professionalisation of political communication within the context of the
professionalisation of political parties themselves as they continually adapt to change.
As Plasser and Plasser acknowledge, ‘professionalisation and its concomitant
orientation of strategic vote management … probably represents one of the most
momentous reaction strategies of political parties in the long run’(2002, p. 310). It is not
simply a reaction to specific or particular changes.

The wider context in which such changes – e.g. the use of consultants – takes place is The Professionalisation of Political Communication in Europe
therefore critical and it must not be ignored: socio-political change (e.g. dealignment),
economic change (e.g. changes in the labour markets) and technological change (e.g.
onset of ICTs) affect the existence of all organisations and forces them to review their
objectives and their practices. And as one looks at changes in the ways political parties,
governments and organisations communicate with their external environments, one is
struck by the speed and frequency by which ideas and practices get revised: mediated
mass election campaigning has now been joined by targeted local niche electioneering
which had up until recently been out of favour; communication practices used whilst in
opposition are now deemed unsuited to parties in government, and, finally, spin – once
admired – is now derided. 39