Ministers with bad products
Politicians have a terrible fetish for TV cameras. Many of them believe that appearing on television is virtual proof of their political raison d’etre. In fact, they will go to any ends to attract TV cameras. Some ministers are particularly fond of one rather cheap ruse: They invite journalists so they can supposedly present their work to the public. Whether any work has actually been done is another question. Certainly, ministers need to advertise their track record. But they sometimes put so much effort into publicizing what they have been doing that there is no time left to actually do anything. PASOK officials are no strangers to hype. But that did not save the socialist party from an election debacle. Ultimately, what counts is the reality on the ground. PASOK’s fate should be a lesson to conservative ministers. They should always keep in mind that, as one advertiser famously said, «nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising.»
