This particular post comes in the wake of a report released in Japan on Wednesday (J) concerning the latest advertisement by the Democratic Party of Japan to get voters out during this year’s federal election and halt the progress of the LDP’s legislative agenda. The advertisement on the left essentially says “I hate the DPJ, but I want to defend democracy”, before going on to say “You don’t have to trust us straight away. But allow us to perform our blocking role as an opposition party”.
It’s difficult to tell whether this is a last-gasp effort by the DPJ to get somebody, anybody, to vote for them in the up-coming election or a sincere effort to appeal to people’s sense of “fairness” by creating an image of the DPJ as “fighting the good fight” despite a lack of popular appeal.
While it certainly generates debate, it is unlikely to produce results at the polls. The DPJ has only an 8.1% level (J) of support compared to the LDP’s 37.5%. At this rate, the LDP could lose some more support and still come out on top in the election.
By trying to sell itself as a brake on the LDP’s power, it serves as a reminder that the DPJ has no influence over other parties and that it is actively disliked by many voters. Asking people to vote for you even though they hate you is self-defeating. In fact it might just exacerbate the level of hatred they have for you as you are basically telling them that they are naïve, that they should trust you implicitly and not trust their own judgment.
It’s clutching at straws, very thin, weak straws. And won’t be forgotten soon, which in a sense is a win for the advertising campaign, but for the wrong reason.
It’s difficult to tell whether this is a last-gasp effort by the DPJ to get somebody, anybody, to vote for them in the up-coming election or a sincere effort to appeal to people’s sense of “fairness” by creating an image of the DPJ as “fighting the good fight” despite a lack of popular appeal.
While it certainly generates debate, it is unlikely to produce results at the polls. The DPJ has only an 8.1% level (J) of support compared to the LDP’s 37.5%. At this rate, the LDP could lose some more support and still come out on top in the election.
By trying to sell itself as a brake on the LDP’s power, it serves as a reminder that the DPJ has no influence over other parties and that it is actively disliked by many voters. Asking people to vote for you even though they hate you is self-defeating. In fact it might just exacerbate the level of hatred they have for you as you are basically telling them that they are naïve, that they should trust you implicitly and not trust their own judgment.
It’s clutching at straws, very thin, weak straws. And won’t be forgotten soon, which in a sense is a win for the advertising campaign, but for the wrong reason.
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