出国留学首选一诺留学

　　Britain How to win elections

　　英国 获选方法

　　Baracking the voters

　　奥巴马式拉票

　　British parties want to emulate the Americanmaster

　　英国政党希望效仿美国总统

　　At ten o’clock, recalls a Labour Party staffer, the sweep began. From neighbourhoods acrossAmerica, information rippled up a telephone chain. By 10.25am on election day, BarackObama’s campaign headquarters in Chicago knew exactly where its troops were and how manyballots had been cast in each precinct. Activists were promptly redeployed. The same thinghappened at 2pm and again at 4pm. The visitor was left wide-eyed, and inspired: “It can workin Britain, too.”

　　据英国工党(Labour Party)某成员回忆称，当天上午10点，行动开始展开。来自全美各地的信息使得电话声连绵不绝。选举日上午10点25分前，位于美国芝加哥(Chicago)的奥巴马(Barack Obama)竞选总部已准确地把握其宣传人员的部署以及各选区的票数。这些宣传人员随即受到重新安排。随后，当天下午2点和4点，部署又进行了相同的调整。那位目击全过程的工党成员对此大开眼界，并大受启发道：“这一套在英国也行得通。”

　　Astonishing as it may seem, the 2015 British general-election campaign has begun. TheConservative Party’s campaign headquarters sports a countdown clock informing staffers howmany seconds remain before polls open. Like Labour and the Liberal Democrats, it has a list oftarget seats. And all three parties are keen to learn from the great American vote-wrangler.

　　虽然有些惊人，但2015年英国大选活动也已展开。英国保守党(Conservative Party，译者注：下文的Tories亦表示保守党)在竞选总部得意洋洋地挂起一架倒计时钟，以向其成员明示开票日前的所剩时间。同时，保守党也和工党与自由民主党(Liberal Democrats)同样罗列出所争取的国会席位。以上三党都希望从美国高效的拉票团体中学得一二。

　　The campaign model they so admire rests on three foundations: a large and disciplined fieldoperation, a good system for managing data and plenty of cash. British political parties used toboast formidable field machines, but they have slipped. Even Labour, which boasts mostboots on the ground, has a membership of under 200,000. The Conservatives and the LiberalDemocrats are finding that coalition government is glyphosate to the grassroots.

　　三党佩服美国的竞选模式在于三点：宣传活动规模盛大而井井有条、信息管理体系完备、竞选资金充足到位。英国政党曾自诩其无敌的拉票团体，但现已不复存在。连群众基础最深厚的工党，其成员也已不足20万人。而保守党和自由民主党也已意识到，联合政府只会使其丧失群众根基。

　　With traditional parties shrinking, Britain’s politicos talk of the Obama model as a solution.The art of community organising—convening energetic groups of activists around local issues—is all the rage. Honed by Mr Obama in the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) in 1980s Chicago,it inspired his decentralised campaign machine. Labour has flown in Arnie Graf, a former IAFdirector, to overhaul its structures. The Conservatives have established a residential trainingacademy for campaign managers. The Liberal Democrats want to defend seats they hold byrunning almost purely local campaigns.

　　在这传统政党衰弱之时，英国的政客们开始推崇“奥巴马式”竞选以求改善。以地方问题召集有志团体，即社区动员的技法开始盛行。1980年代，时任“产业地区基金会”(IAF)成员的奥巴马对社区动员法进行了改良。随后，该方法推动了其分散于全美各地的竞选团体。英国工党已派人飞往前IAF前主席Arnie Graf住处，以彻底改革其党内体制;保守党则为培养竞选管理者设立了一所寄宿制培训学校;而自由民主党则希望以近乎彻底的地区竞选来保住手中的国会席位。

　　This is easier said than done. Britain’s politicians tend to keep activists on a tight leash—andhave little cash with which to recruit and train professional organisers. Matthew McGregor, aBriton who was part of Mr Obama’s digital communications team, says building the Organisingfor America network took a “will to invest” that is mostly absent from Westminster politics.Time to select candidates and build local movements is running out, adds Paul Goodman, a Torycommentator. “Having cups of tea with people is very important,” he explains.