How to construct a modern political party?

Blair-Brown is over. No more living in the past David Miliband - Times Online: "But it became outdated in the new media age where people crave participation. Today we are proud of our activists, not fearful of them. So we need a new way of doing politics. We talked about political reform in the last Parliament, admittedly late in the day. But we did not meet today’s requirement for openness and participation. We did not escape the image of politics as deals, not debate; a game, not a calling."

David Miliband is one of the contestants for Party Leader in Labour. He was groomed as a foreign secretary and it is now very interesting to see how he think Labour should renew itself based on his broad experience. Apparently he thinks the new media age did his party in.

The image of politics has become "a game, not a calling", he says. I really think he is on to something here. "The game" has become a menace. It is the entry to the black net-economy where they don't pay tax and clandestinely shield people from real life. These practices must create alienation and cause people to worry.

Miliband uses "participation" as a key word. Someone Swedish said that so called "fri-fräsande" bloggers, ie, non-organized activists, was a problem if they blogged in a party's name. The same person once said there were hierarchies on the internet which made me wonder about free speech. I guess some people like to sing in a choir whereas others like solving problems as they come.

Participants in the political discussion obviously vary in skill and knowledge. It seems to me, however, that they should be valuable to parties in all forms. There are these besserwissers that think they need to intervene when the internet naturally sort out what is interesting by itself. Smart people don't read what does not interest them.

Swedish politics, and now also British, is the politics of coalitions. That would make it more interesting to read of "natural" ideas from people rather than sorting people into party choirs. The combined idea from the people becomes more interesting than the party line. However, there must be leaders out there that manage to also lead by their visions. Governing by the poll might not be creative enough. After all the most creative politicians don't represent the mean. I guess it is a little like the hen and the egg. I hope that the new politics is not going to be performed by people that are poll nerds. Perhaps it is time to separate the politician from the government administrator? Or is the politician passé? After all the political party memberships are declining.