19/09/2026
🇩🇪 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠?
Two days in Berlin brought together more than 180 campaign professionals, communicators, political and party leaders, think tank representatives and opinion leaders to explore a political environment that is changing faster than many campaign structures can adapt.
A few questions stood out.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 "𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲" 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞?
With AI and digital tools increasingly embedded in political work, research is moving beyond the simple question of who will you vote for? towards mapping who can be persuaded, why, where and with what probability. This creates new possibilities for campaigns, but also raises a bigger question: how do we govern the new politics that these technologies are creating?
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬?🗳️
Across several discussions, the message was surprisingly human. Voters do not necessarily expect perfect politicians. Standing for something, showing genuine conviction, being consistent and admitting mistakes can matter more than polished perfection. At the same time, the lack of substantive debate on ideas remains a challenge in many political environments.
📍 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬?
From the Polish experience of coalition costs to the Italian realignment of key constituencies, we looked at how political choices translate into voter behaviour. The same applies to issues such as rearmament and the cost of living: national arguments need to connect with the concrete, local and “kitchen table” effects that people experience themselves.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬?
The UK Conservative experience offered a case study in revisiting values, sharpening political positions and, importantly, matching a change in messaging with a change in political behaviour.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦?
It is a common question of political conferences. We discussed populism as both political content and political form: its content often centres on simple, emotional demands and opposition to elites, while its direct style can also communicate democratic ideas. Democratic campaigns must therefore address real frustrations and offer credible alternatives in plain language and going to the people, without abandoning democratic values.
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐬? 📊
The move from voting-intention surveys towards constituency mapping, profiling and simulation is opening up very different ways of understanding electorates and campaign dynamics.
Finally, we also discussed the human side of political leadership. Political participation increasingly involves perceived risks and, for many politicians, real pressure and threats. Direct contact matters here too: when people know you personally, it becomes harder to reduce you to an image or an enemy.
For the third consecutive year, was glad to contribute to these conversations with our partners, trainers and alumni on stage and bring the perspective of our work with the next generation of political leaders.
The most interesting question coming out of Berlin may therefore not be how campaigns will use AI, data or new communication tools, but how political organisations will adapt their leadership, values and democratic practices to a fundamentally changing political environment.
Thank you to the organisers Armin Petschner-Multari and The Republic, International Democracy Union, Leadership Institute, the Union Stiftung and everyone who made these two days such a valuable international exchange. 🤝
