American consultants influence how Austrian campaigns are run

As a small country in the heart of Europe, Austria has problems getting noticed internationally. It is one of the less prominent European Union countries, and it is often confused with similarly sounding Australia.

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Still, Austrians like to think that they have at least some influence on U.S. politics. On the Republican side there is Arnold Schwarzenegger: The California governor was born and raised in Austria. His childhood dialect is omnipresent, even if he is only pronouncing the name of his new home, California (or as he would say, Kal-ee-for-nee-ah.) Democratic ties to Austria are more tenuous, the best example being John Kerry's grandfather, Fritz Kohn, who left for the United States at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Austro-American political relationship is much stronger going the other way. More than most other European democracies, Austria has relied on U.S. political consultants in recent years. A list of consultants who have worked in Austria reads like the who's-who of the campaign business: Democratic consultants James Carville, Stanley Greenberg, Bob Boorstin, Jeff Eller, Jennifer Laszlo and Michael Sheehan have advised the Social Democratic Party. The conservative People's Party hired Republican consultants Walter De Vries, Frank Luntz and Tom Edmonds.

Many American professionals have taken the role of a consultants' consultant, i.e. they gave the Austrian consultants advice on how to run a campaign. Others, like Luntz doing polling in the 1995 general elections, were in charge of a clearly defined part of the campaign. But there were also some, like Greenberg, Boorstin and Laszlo, who took central roles. Greenberg and Boorstin (both of whom worked in Bill Clinton's War Room), actually were the general campaign managers for the Social Democrats in the general elections in 2002.

Though they set new standards in terms of polling and debate preparation, there were downsides, as well. Confronted with a weak local campaign manager, the American spinmeisters were responsible for too many day-to-day decisions, and several misjudgments followed. In one case, Greenberg rejected the idea that the Social Democrats call for an end to compulsory military service. Having in mind positive American and Israeli attitudes to the armed forces, he argued that such a move would ignite conservative attacks. The idea, however, would have attracted at least some conservative voters.

Knowledge of the local habits and political culture is key to American consultants' success in handling foreign campaigns. Here is one insight from an American who learned that lesson the hard way: When writing speeches for a Social Democratic candidate, the consultant kept inserting the phrase "God bless you" at the end. This proved to be a crucial faux pas in a country in which such religious references are less accepted.

There are other hurdles American consultants must overcome in running Austrian campaigns besides cultural differences.

The Party System

Parties play a much more hands-on role in Austrian politics than they do in United States, a difference that can be troublesome for American consultants.

"In some cases you're reporting to the party chair, then you report to the candidate for prime minister, then you report to executive directors. That's a little bit of Balkanization," said Democratic consultant Rick Ridder, who worked for the Social Democrats a couple of years ago.

Because of different interests within the People's Party, Republican media adviser Tom Edmonds could not even get a written contract.

"I did not understand all the agendas going on within the party," he added. "I was involved in politics within politics."

The complex system has caused problems concerning the implementation of decisions, which had to go through too many layers. "Everybody was a party apparatchik, essentially," Boorstin recalled.

The Lack of TV Ads

In the United States political ads are a crucial form of advertising in political campaigns; in Austria, they are prohibited. (Other countries with similar ad prohibitions include South Africa, Switzerland and Singapore.) "It's like being a cancer doctor and being told that you can't use chemotherapy and radiation," Edmonds said. "So, if they tell me I can't buy TV and other ads, what can I do?"

Fund Raising

Another difference reflects the lack of political fund raising in Austria, which relies largely on public funding instead. This limited pot of money can sometimes translate into less-than-professional campaign resources. When Laszlo joined a campaign for the Social Democrats in the Austrian province of Carinthia, she discovered major mistakes in polling techniques and message development. But the publicly-funded war chest was empty, so there wasn't any money left to change course.

Still, there are plenty of success stories for American political consultants working in Austria. Greenberg and Boorstin's clients won big in the Viennese mayoral elections in 2001. There, the consultants were perfectly integrated in a team of homegrown professionals.

The assessment of the American imports' talents is generally high. "In terms of strategy, polling and message development, we are clearly on a different level now" because of the American involvement, said Harry Schranz, campaign manager of the Viennese Social Democrats. The proof? The party has again hired a Greenberg team for the October 2005 elections.

Thomas M. Hofer is a consultant and lobbyist in Vienna, Austria. He earned a Master's degree at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. This article is adapted from his new book, "Spin Doctors in Austria," (LIT Verlag) about the influence of American consultants on Austrian politics. Hofer can be reached at thomas.hofer@publicaffairs.cc or THofer@gmx.net.

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