Communication challenges for political parties - Media Programme Southeast Europe
Event Reports
The Southeastern Europe Party Forum is a meeting of major political parties from Southeastern Europe and engages political party leaders in discussions on various topics: responsiveness to the electorate, political representation, public discourse and institutional integrity. Christian Spahr participated in the panel on "representation", together with Maren Malthe-Sørenssen, Party Spokesperson of the Oslo Branch of the Norwegian conservative party Høyre, Irfan Čengić, General Secretary of the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iva Pavlović, Member of the General Board of the Democratic Front of Montenegro, and Arta Dade, Foreign Relations Secretary, Socialist Party of Albania. The panel was moderated by Chris Henshaw, NDI Director in Macedonia.
Spahr elaborated on the situation of political communication in South East Europe, the challenges parties face in their communication and the lack of trust of citizens in the media. Changes in political and information culture make it necessary for both governments and parties to be more transparent, especially with an increasing usage of social media. The majority of citizens still feel poorly informed, as KAS opinion polls in Bulgaria and Romania have shown. "Governments and parties in South East Europe need to explain many changes to citizens. Therefore, especially in times of crisis, good inward and outward communication is crucial," emphasised Spahr.
The role of PR managers within political parties is becoming more and more pivotal. However, not all party leaders see the communications department as a strategic partner and advisor yet. Other challenges for press spokespersons are the highly polarised media landscape, difficult access to media for opposition parties, and a lack of ethical standards for relationships of PR personnel with journalists.
Spahr introduced some of the activities of the KAS Media Program South East Europe and its partner SEECOM in the field of political communication.
