Here are some excerpts from Quintus Tullius Cicero’s
advice to his brother Marcus, fighting an election in 64BC:
Avoid any specific discussion of public
policy at public meetings… Since you are such an excellent communicator and
your reputation has been built on this fact, you should approach every speaking
engagement as if your entire future depended on it.
Make good use of the young people who admire
you and want to learn from you, in addition to all the faithful friends who are
daily at your side… Now is the time to call in all favours.
Running for office can be divided into two
kinds of activity: securing the support of your friends and winning over the
general public… For a candidate, a friend is anyone who shows you goodwill or
seeks out your company.
You should work with diligence to secure
supporters from a wide variety of backgrounds… If men are sufficiently grateful
to you, as I’m sure they are, everything will fall into place.
There are three things that will guarantee
votes in an election: favours, hope, and personal attachment… As for those who
you have inspired with hope – a zealous and devoted group – you must make them
to believe that you will always be there to help them.
Recognising the difference between the useful
and the useless men in any organisation will save you from investing your time
and resources with people who will be of little help to you… Seek out men
everywhere who will represent you as if they themselves were running for
office.
I think now is the time to sound a note of
caution. Politics is full of deceit, treachery, and betrayal… Nothing impresses
an average voter more than having a candidate remember him, so work every day
to recall names and faces.
Don’t leave Rome!... There is no time for
vacations during a campaign.
If a politician made only promises he was
sure he could keep, he wouldn’t have many friends… Be sure to put on a good
show. Dignified, yes, but full of the colour and spectacle that appeals so much
to crowds.
Useful, practical stuff. Not only cynical. And not only
for politicians.
How To Win An Election: An Ancient Guide for Modern
Politicians by Quintus Tullius Cicero, translated by Philip Freeman (Princeton
University Press, 2012)
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