Alastair Campbell,
For more than ten years, Alastair Campbell has been the mastermind behind Tony Blair’s communication strategy when he was as running for office, and then at 10 Downing street when he became PM. He is the one who shaped the renewal of the Labour Party and Blair’s political campaigns and communication as Prime Minister.
A brilliant mind and clever professional, he is however commonly described as lacking conviction and ideology.
Campbell, who is a former journalist, first worked with Tony Blair in 1994, three years before he got elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
During the 1997 campaign, he shaped the New Labour political image and highlighted Blair’s modern thinkingity and new type of leadership.
According to many communication specialists, the two main lessons Campbell taught to Blair were: first to turn the dominating ideas and values of political opponents against them, like a judo fighter would do; and second, to generate a perpetual movement/ dynamism around his own political actions.
At the 10 Downing Street, Campbell was in charge of implementing the second point, organizing two to three major political events a day with the PM in order to monopolize/keep up the focus of permanently focus media attention.
Campbell in actions:
In 2002, Campbell, along with Tony Blair, purposely leaked on Cherry Blair’s recent miscarriage in order to justify the couple’s cancelling their holiday trip. Campbell did not want journalists to believe their trip had been canceled because of the launching of the war in Iraq.
Campbell was also behind Blair’s political use of Lady Diana’s death in 1997. He organized and leaked Blair’s opposition to the royal family and his desire wishes to make a national icon out of the dead princess. Thanks to this move, Blair became incredibly popular (93% of popularity ratings).
Alastair Campbell had to resign in 2007, after the David Kelly scandal. David Kelly was a military expert This scandal was named after a military specialist, David Kelly, who played a critical role was very critical toward in relation to the war in Iraq and who killed himself after rumors were falsely spread against him.
Since his resignation in 2007, Campbell has suffered from depression and mental illness.
Nothing but the spin... 