The Manila Times

Base-building and coalition-building: What a candidate must learn

YEN MAKABENTA

MUCH time and attention are being spent on analyzing the impact of Sen. Bong Go’s withdrawal as a presidential candidate in the May 2022 election. There is interest in why he precipitately quit the race and in who will stand to profit politically from his withdrawal.

In my view, Go’s quitting is not really much different from the earlier withdrawal by Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa of his presidential candidacy, except for a difference in timing.

Both candidacies were launched or floated because of the urgings of President Duterte that they file their certificates of candidacy as a tactical or strategic maneuver of the administration. Both presumably were assured of the backing of the President and his government to the limits allowed by law. Both loyally agreed.

But then, when the senators came face with the challenge of waging a national campaign for election, they realized that they had only reached a dead end. They had nowhere to go. There was no army or legions for them to command and lead.

Bato, no doubt because of his military training, saw the situation and the predicament. So, he quickly decided to withdraw his candidacy.

Bong Go had to consult for a sign from God first before making his final decision to withdraw.

They left the race without the blessing of their boss.

Like stillborn children

There would be no point in speculating on who will benefit from the withdrawals, if we regard these withdrawn or aborted candidacies as very much like stillborn children.

Just as we can’t imagine the children who might have been had the stillborn survived, we cannot also imagine what kind of political campaigns Senators Go and dela Rosa could have mounted, or how much interest or excitement they could have brought to the race.

Both the Go and dela Rosa campaigns abruptly ended before they could be launched. Both candidates did not get around to assembling the nuts and bolts of a campaign for the presidency. I seriously doubt whether they ever found the time to find out what a serious run for the presidency really entails. In this case, ignorance was bliss.

In the belief that there are still live candidacies out there that need serious review and reassessment, and could benefit from some practical advice, I want to outline here today a checklist of essential chores that a presidential election campaign must undertake before it can be considered serious and worthy of consideration.

Essential chores in election campaign

The essential chores are: 1. A candidate for president must take a long view of his goals and objectives. He should be able to summarize in a single page why he is running for the office.

A campaign for high office is an intense and emotional experience. It is serious business and will involve a lot of work, so one must be prepared to work harder than you could.

2. Being smart and strategic about campaigning requires having a plan. In every aspect of a campaign, planning is a first step. It is impossible to run a focused, sufficiently financed and successful campaign without having goals and a blueprint for achieving them.

3. To succeed, a campaign must deliver a credible and winning message that voters can enthusiastically support. The most effective messages are bold, clear and concise. They establish a link between the campaign and the voters.

4. Unless it literally starts from nowhere, an election campaign must engage in base building and in expanding the base.

A base is the core group of people who can be counted on to support a campaign. A campaign focuses on base voters and base constituents.

5. Once the base of a campaign is identified, the work then turns toward building the base and expanding it.

6. From base building, the candidate and his team must turn their attention toward building a coalition with other political groups and even political rivals.

Every voter counts

The key point to remember is that a candidate or a campaign wants to represent a broad and diverse group of people. They cannot take anyone’s vote for granted, particularly someone who is assumed to be part of the base. A campaign has to work for every vote and for every supporter of his/her previous voting pattern or affiliation.

Finally, it should always be recognized that there is a huge number of people who should become part of the base.

In an electoral campaign, base building starts with the candidate and depends on his belief and ability to galvanize and inspire people. But it is not enough to merely inspire. A campaign must methodically nurture its base by working closely with different communities.

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2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://manilatimes.pressreader.com/article/281659668325819

The Manila Times