Every politician strives to be relevant. Otherwise a political tide can easily drive one to the ‘deathbed’ before reaping the benefits of a political career. To achieve much politically, you need to follow a few ‘commandments’ that come with being a politician. These will help overcome the challenges of having to beg around to sustain yourself politically.
Thou shall not over-criticize thy rivals
This is because soon or later you may need them. After all, there are no permanent friends and enemies in politics. The one thing that politicians thrive on is criticizing their rivals in an attempt to make them look bad and gain political mileage from their downfall. Criticizing in politics is not bad as it is a norm, however one should know the limits.
This is because if the situation gets bad in your camp you may want to ‘run’ away. You need to shake hands with the people in the rival camp and keep warm relations. The people you criticize a lot could turn out to be the very people to welcome you into their camp.
Thou shall accept criticism
Your supporters are the pillar to your success as a politician. They have varied opinions about your ‘moves’ and activities and not all of them will be in agreement with what you do or say. The best thing you can do as politician is listen to them, analyze their response and act accordingly.
A big mistake many politicians make is ignore or even fight back whenever supporters are disgruntled with their ‘moves’. Most clever politicians don’t even respond to criticism from supporters they just listen or read and act accordingly. Social media sites never forget and in this digital world unless someone deletes a post or comment, it will be there for quite some time. They will always remind you of it over and over again.
Thou shall limit political talk shows and programmes
The one thing the ‘enigmas’ of politics thrive on is avoiding political talk shows and programmes aired on radio and TV stations. Most politicians rarely attend such shows unless it is necessary in addressing an emerging issue or a pressing matter.
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These shows expose you to public scrutiny and build a certain image of you in the eyes of the public and in case you ever jump ship they will never trust you. Your moves will be monitored so much that you cannot evade the public eye.
Thou shall be financially able to run politics
A politician should have a financial muscle to venture into the risky political affairs. His/her budget includes a lot of things, ranging from fuel expenses when traversing the country, county, constituency or ward, bodyguards and even ‘handouts’ being the norm in the country. These expenses are what make an effective campaigns, without which getting popular can be an uphill task.
Thou shall keep your family out of the political arena
Politics is a risky career as it has ups and downs; one may endanger his/her family while pursuing it. Rivals go after your family to try and weaken you. Families of politicians end up being abducted and even killed by rivals to intimidate them.
The one thing you should invest in is their security and privacy. Most politicians live in gated estates with guards. This should be the most important consideration as a politician since your family is very crucial and can’t be traded in for anything else.
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