BBC: "How to win a referendum"

All of a sudden, according to the BBC, the referendum has become this month's trend, and it is not necessarily the best opponent that wins. Intelligent tactics can play a determinant role, the article states, and it proposes a series of tips about how to win this kind of popular consultation.

Since this is a real war, the opponent's real strong points must be attacked, to prevent him from pulling back, and knowledge of the opponent is essential, according to people who were involved in similar processes, quoted by the BBC.

The same article emphasizes that underestimating the size of the challenge, the temptation of speaking only to your own supporters or using celebrities in the electoral campaign, which can divide your audience, are the main mistakes which must be avoided in order to win.

The structure and the resources of the parties can be used to increase the number of votes, even though the politicians are not necessarily relevant, and the campaign issues must be relevant to the citizens who will attend the vote, the article stresses, and it provides as an example the constitutional problems as being abstract issues, far from the daily preoccupations of the voters.

The conclusions of the article show that, despite the most brilliant practices, of the use of the best networks and of major financial resources, a referendum can be lost if the general economic and political disposition is against its creators.

Citizens are the ones who have the last word, and democrats know that the people are never wrong, Brian Wheeler concludes.