Driving through Pennsylvania during the summer, I was bombarded every mile or so with massive billboards. Some had a bold Trump-Vance logo, others had focus group-tested slogans about Harris-Walz being the ideal choice. This in-your-face campaigning is much less common in Ireland. Of course, parties do campaign nationwide and there are some billboards – albeit, more Irish-sized! But in a parliamentary democracy like Ireland, it’s often the handshake on the door that will get candidates into the Dáil.
The billboard-handshake campaigning dichotomy is essentially the political version of mass-marketing versus niche marketing. Both have their place, but they need to be employed strategically.
Billboard Campaigning
Billboard campaigning – or mass marketing in general – is a great way to spread big messages. A party can billboard any consistent message it wants to put out. Key points from the party manifesto, party achievements from the most recent term. A charismatic leader is a key point of focus for billboarding. A well-liked party leader can help local candidates get elected, even if they are not as well-known.
Simon Harris, the Taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael, is doing an extraordinary job of this. Pretty much every ad Fine Gael has put out nationally on this campaign so far features him. When you see your local Fine Gael candidate’s poster, you’re likely to think of Harris. His conversation with kids about childcare costs or clips of him smiling while he shakes hands with adoring constituents. You might not know the first thing about your candidate – and you can’t vote for Harris – but those positive feelings spread throughout the party and help local candidates.
Handshake Campaigning
Handshake campaigning – or niche marketing – gives the candidate a feel for the constituency. It’s only by talking to voters that you can really understand what is happening in the neighbourhood and how you can help them. If someone tells you they need a pothole fixed and you do it, watch them and all their friends become your biggest fans. The doorstep contact makes every candidate seem more personable. This is especially true if the candidate is more likeable than their party leader. Handshake campaigning is what wins votes at the end of the day. Independent candidates only have handshakes to run on: what use is it for Mattie McGrath to be well-liked from the telly in Portumna when he’s only running in Tipperary South? It’s no surprise, then, that Independents are thriving in the polls around the country.
In every constituency, there are Independents whose only outlet for campaigning is knocking on doors and turning up to the local events. The Healy-Rae dynasty in Kerry, almost an unofficial regional party unto themselves, are a great example. Although Jackie started off in Fianna Fáil, he later ran as an Independent. He, his two sons, and now his grandchildren are extraordinarily successful candidates. In Kerry, everyone knows the Healy-Raes and most importantly, everyone knows they’re just one phone call away.
Large parties can’t neglect billboard campaigning. There needs to be some sort of national, cohesive strategy to unite the party and bolster some weaker candidates. But they typically have the resources to manage both, so it’s rarely an issue for them. If you’re campaigning and you have to choose between the two, always go for the handshake.
Politics is parochial, even in a centralised government system like Ireland. Knocking on doors and going to local events takes time. This campaigning style takes more time per voter, but the voters you earn will vote for you forever. Billboard campaigning might get a party into the next government, but handshake campaigning will keep you in the Dáil forever.
