"I'm the boss, so what I say goes".

Stumbling blocks of the German brand.

The highly interesting article "Politische Polarisierung, Kommunikation und Regelbefolgung" by Matthias Sutter in the FAZ of 21.12.24 inspired me to ask this question.

I was also prompted to look into the question by the kindergarten-level communication after the end of the German traffic light coalition, the pathetic style, the apparently lost decency that our politicians justify with "election campaigning".

Of course, in principle, a state, a country should also be able to be a brand. A brand that is built on a foundation of clear values, has a vision, provides orientation, guarantees security, conveys trust, shows attitude, increases economic power through its actions, enables society/community to prosper and fills it with pride.

However, the many flashpoints around the world, not just in our country, show that a national brand requires more than wishes and beliefs, more than ideologies. That it doesn't work if the core of the brand is constantly being changed for political reasons.

A brand needs a goal, a plan, a long-term strategy. No tactics without a strategy - a truism. The best values do not help if they are only invoked and not lived. Without a strategy for more than one legislative period, there is no trust in a brand. Only incantations and empty phrases, a lack of attitude, have no effect either internally or externally and invariably lead to chaos.

Another look at the FAZ (03.01.25) and the article "The engineers of the election campaign" is enough to see why it can't work. It says on the subject of "uniform brand image" that campaigners can find out about the party's image on its website and that political communication by - obviously "political" - personalities with cracking themes must attract the attention of users. The statement speaks for itself. Brand management is different.

First and foremost, brand management requires a boss, a personality who is also the top brand ambassador. If this person does not exemplify the topic, other brand ambassadors are untrustworthy and the entire project is worthless.

"I'm the boss, so what I say goes", an attitude that is more than counterproductive in this context, especially in the absence of strategy and expertise, only with disputes, disunity, vanity and disorientation. Competence is indispensable. Communicating "nope" in response to a request demonstrates neither competence nor character. Even an "idea" (for example on financing statutory health insurance) without any plan on how to implement it is not very effective from a brand perspective. And it is more than silly that the still Minister of Economic Affairs (OK, it's an election campaign) is now appearing with his shirt sleeves rolled up and believes that he can score points in a similarly stylish way to recent CEOs who appear in tracksuits and sneakers. Charisma is something else.

Conclusion

Ideologies can be used to gather people, but they cannot be used to lead a country, a brand. It's not about wishes. You can make a wish for your birthday or for Christmas. What is needed is a holistic plan that clearly shows how the set goals will be achieved. It requires economic thinking (economy, expenses and income to ensure people's livelihoods). After all, as we all know, you can only spend what you have previously earned. Orientation towards the philosophy of the "honorable merchant" (attitude, backbone, ethics, humility, ... but also awareness towards society) would do politics good. I therefore do not share Patrick Bernau's view (FAZ, 09.02.2025, "Governing like a manager") that the "pursuit of profit" (companies) is different from the "common good" (politics / state) and that politicians cannot be expected to have management skills.

But you can't ignore statements like:

"History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America is in your hands." Joe Biden (in the letter of 15.01.2025 to the US citizens)

"In any large organization, it is much safer to be wrong with the majority than to be right as an individual." John K. Galbraith

"The merciless voices of the masses know only whims. Today they shout 'Hosanna' without sense or reason, and the next day they shout 'crucify him' without inhibition. The individual loses his responsibility in the subservient diversity, ..." Hans Domizlaff

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation, but only five minutes to destroy it. Warren Buffet

On the other hand, at a time when reality is confusing and solutions are complex, society longs for the simple, for the inevitably good, the predetermined. Perhaps after the "Red String Theory" from East Asian mythology, a popular motif in literature, comparable to soul ties / relationships (see also Taylor Swift's "Invisible String").

So it is not so easy with the German brand on the political stage.