The recognition factor
In the wake of the recent opinion poll conducted by V-PRC, one may say the «recognition factor» tends to be established as a fundamental factor determining the popularity of political officials. The V-PRC opinion poll gave conservative New Democracy an 8.8-percent lead ahead of the ruling Socialists. At the same time, however, it showed that PASOK’s ministers enjoy a considerable advantage over New Democracy’s shadow ministers. This fact has become a major point of contention between Greece’s two major parties. The ruling party attributed the popularity of its ministers to their superior qualities and prestige, while the conservative opposition interpreted the result as a consequence of the higher recognizability of the Socialist ministers vis-a-vis their conservative counterparts, who are relatively unknown among the public… Recognizability is the quality of being recognizable, of being a familiar face. It does not imply a prior evaluation or critical preference. Players in the «Big Brother» and «Bar» reality shows, as well as the colorful figures whose opinions are regularly sought on television, enjoy a high degree of recognizability. In other words, politicians should not crave recognizability or perceive it as an advantage. They should rather consider it a negative factor that taints their image and downgrades their real qualities – provided they have any…
