Expert: politicians need to engage, not argue
Posted March 24, 2011 6:23 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Voters don’t want to see politicians mouthing off at each other, they want to get involved. That’s what a political scientist says as we head toward a possible federal election.
Dennis Pilon with UVic Political Science says politicians need to engage with people the ‘old school’ way, by getting out there to hold public forums and doing one-on-one meet and greets.
He says people often think politicians aren’t listening to them, and have long grown tired of political attacks. “I think the frustration that the public has is that they often don’t feel like they’re in command of the issues and they don’t really understand why the disagreements play out the way they do.”
He adds voters who are the most mobilized, like seniors, will dominate. “If we look at the Canadian context, it gives an advantage to the Conservative party. They have voters who are older, are male, are richer, and are more dedicated to voting than voters who are younger, less wealthy, poor, working class; they aren’t as reliable in terms of showing up to the polls.”
As for getting people to care, he says counting on people to just vote won’t do it, and social media only plays a role with younger generations.
Pundits weighing in on what federal parties need to win
Andrew Coyne with Macleans Magazine says the Liberals have to watch out if they plan on focusing on ethics and accountability. “Which is fine, if they are actually going to propose to change anything. If all they do is come in and say, ‘Throw the bums out! Harper, Harper, Harper… and trust us.’ I don’t think it’s going to get any traction with people.”
He says if Tories lose, the Liberals are likely to form a coalition government with the NDP just like they threatened to do two years ago.
Fellow Macleans columnist Paul Wells agrees, saying the Liberals and the Tories have spent the last decade hurling insults at each other so it may be difficult for them to claim the high moral ground.
