If you start typing the letters ‘jos’ into Google, one of the first suggested search results will be the phrase ‘josipović spot’. This speaks volumes about the popularity that the recent video of the former President of Croatia, and today’s political candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, enjoys on the internet these days. However, although Josipović could only have wished for such popularity just a few days ago, he has no reason to be satisfied with it. Quite the opposite.
Two spots from his party, Naprijed Hrvatska, have become the subject of ridicule and mockery on social media, overshadowing even the leader of the opposition HDZ, Tomislav Karamarko, who is already notoriously the most uninspiring politician for internet jokes. Regardless of whether the sounds of Thompson’s Čavoglave or Prodigy’s Omen are edited onto Josipović’s drumming, the result is usually hilariously funny, showing the potential for a viral hit that will mark the upcoming elections.
Thus, with an expenditure of 1500 kuna, which he boasted was the cost of these two spots, Josipović achieved the impossible. Not only did he divert focus from Karamarko, but he also significantly diminished the electoral prospects of his party, and likely that of his coalition partner Radimir Čačić. For someone who was recently at the top of various lists of the most popular politicians, this is a respectable, indeed spectacular fall that is hard to recall in recent history.
Where did Josipović actually go wrong? Generally speaking, he probably made a mistake the moment he refused a peaceful retreat to the position of a moral authority after his presidential career, opting instead to plunge into the mud of political struggle with other political parties. However, having made that decision, he had to be very much prepared for below-the-belt punches, let alone to throw down the gauntlet to the competition.
I have no doubt that behind most of the mentioned works are indeed Josipović’s political competitors, most likely those targeting the same part of the political spectrum. Of course, I mean the SDP.
Without delving into the content and politics they pursue (that is not the topic of this text), it is a fact that the SDP is currently conducting a brutally effective political campaign, much of which relates to the internet.
After all, data released a few days ago about the most successful parties on social media showed that the SDP is convincingly in first place here. The HDZ, as the second major party, is, for instance, fourth. However, Josipović’s party, Naprijed Hrvatska, is only in the last 15th place, which is a frighteningly poor result, even compared to less popular parties.
The role of social media and the internet, of course, should not be overstated. For some parties, given their voter base, it may not even need to be very significant. However, a party led by someone like Ivo Josipović can realistically only address more educated voters who are constantly present on the internet. Therefore, what has happened in terms of political marketing is a complete disaster.
The political game on the internet, without a doubt, is played particularly dirty. Not everyone may like it, but it is so, and it is unlikely to change. Personally, I have no problem with such a sharp game as long as untruths are not spread about opponents. Everything else is permissible. Every serious political option must be ready to accept the rules of the game and impose itself by utilizing the potential of new media.
For those who know how to do it, the effort might pay off, although there are, of course, no guarantees. However, it is quite certain that those who do not manage will be chewed up and spit out of the political arena for all time. Josipović has dangerously approached this after the gaffe with the campaign spots.
