Who said politics has to be boring? A YouTube video featuring MEP Daniel Hannan telling Gordon Brown what he (and probably most people in the country) thinks of his economic record has become this week’s internet sensation. The video has had, at time of writing, 1.1 million hits and over 7,400 comments.
The Telegraph has the good fortune of having him on their books as a blog writer. It seems that Daniel is as surprised as everyone at his notoriety. After being ignored by the BBC and national newspapers when he tipped them off about the clip, he woke up to dozens of texts and messages when the clip had accumulated 36,000 hits overnight. He says:
“What caught their attention? To be honest, I’m slightly perplexed. I have been making similar speeches every week and posting them on YouTube for the past seven months. I made one just now: 60 seconds on how Brussels is spraying money at the European Investment Bank. Perhaps people felt frustrated about the way Gordon Brown had carried on without once asking for their votes. Perhaps they would have loved to tell him what they thought of him, but lacked the opportunity.”
One thing is for sure, Daniel is right that the internet has changed politics. Unlike some politicians’ attempts with Twitter and blogs, this video is right on the money. When politicians try to ’get down with the kids’, it just makes them look more out of touch. This works perfectly: it’s a simple communication in the language and format we expect from our leaders. It’ll be interesting to see how the internet and the use of online PR tools plays out during the next general election.
Update 18.19: Just seen a tweet from @Johnprescott with the Labour response. Time will tell whether that was a good idea or if they should have left well alone.
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More than 1.1 million hits and STILL no mainstream news coverage in the UK.
In case you missed it here is the earlier speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDwQEEAZhWM
Absolutely brilliant Mr.Hannan…
You have said, what the majority of Brits would like to say to his face….
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