“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.” – Daniel J Boorstin, an American historian, professor, attorney, and writer.
I do wonder who’s PR is the worst: the PLP or the OBA?
Yesterday the Shadow Finance Minister David Burt released this statement which said: “The governing OBA promised Bermuda 2,000 jobs, yet in their first year as government, total job losses stand at 1,166.”
And we have a survey which suggest former Premier Ewart Brown was more highly thought of than the current Premier – despite all the controversy that dogged Dr Brown’s tenure in office. As I said in another blog, where are PCC’s handlers?
Vexed Bermoothes summed it up quite well in this blog regarding the PLP’s approach to PR.
Their spin is pretty dizzying – is it any wonder jobs were lost last year? That is the knock-on effect of the continued (in Bermuda’s case) recession and the overspending by the previous Government. Fixes don’t happen overnight and the Shadow Minister, deep down, knows that only too well.
This Government should be judged this year but probably, realistically, next year. It is only over a period of time that success can be measured. Mr Burt knows that – the country knows that, as it was over a period of time that the outrageous national debt grew under the PLP.
On the other hand, the OBA seems almost passive in its approach to PR, too gentlemanly. The survey should have been another wake-up call that the OBAs message is not getting out to the public, that PCC seems to have no voter loyalty, that his personality is not carrying the voter.
Unfortunately, it is a fact nowadays that the PR battle is an important one to win. Personally I don’t think either party is doing it well. One is too loud and brash, one is too meek and quiet.
It is a confusing message for the voter.
(PS, I have to declare an interest – I run my own public relations company, Deep Blue Communications, )
Bermuda Blue 