The 2 Things European Politicians Must Learn About Communications

European politicians have a problem.

Not just one.

But the main problem - and one that supersedes all others - is messaging.

Yes - it sounds stupid.

After thousands of years, politicians still don’t understand that the “packaging” is still more important than the “present.”

In other words - it isn’t about “ideas” (per se) - it’s about how you sell them.

I will highlight two areas that demonstrate my point:

Sentence length

Critics point out that Donald Trump can hardly string together a full sentence. Guilty as charged. But that misses the point.

Shorter sentences are easier to digest. They are also easier to repeat.

Messages that are easily repeatable will get shared.

And that always wins the day.

Always.

Politicians who want to deal in nuance need to learn this. Actually they need to learn the lesson of Churchill. He famously held a preference for short, Anglo-Saxon words. Why? Because he wanted to reach a working-class (read: less educated) audience.

He wasn’t a Nazi - but he understood political communication.

Repetition

“Repeatability” of political messages is one thing - and it is tied to the the “size” of the message.

Repetition is closely linked. When the message is broken down into “digestible parts” - it can be repeated quite easily.

By the messanger - or by those who listen.

Think “Lock her up” chanted by thousands of MAGA supporters. Or “Get Brexit done” plastered on every press conference podium.

Theresa May was an honourable prime minister with good ideas - but poor messaging. Repetition also holds a trap.

Get your message wrong - too long, too complicated or too vague - and repetition is your enemy. Every time you say it, you shoot your foot again…and again.

But - if you are sharp and to the point - you can break any barrier.

Speak now or…

So how do you fix this problem?

Very, very, very systematically. The most complex ideas, the most nuanced perspectives can actually be broken down.

You just have to be focused enough to do it.

One master of the craft is Alexander Stubb, president of Finland. Anyone who has seen him in interviews (speaking at WEF 2025, for example) knows that he has a habit of breaking things down into 3 points.

Very smart. The shorter and simpler you make the subject - the faster you get to the solution.

Observing the social media accounts and the press releases of most major foreign ministries - as well as other departments - around the world, I have to say:

Most people don’t get it.

Yet.