Our Prime Minister: Tweeter or Twit?

José Socrates

Wouldn’t it be great if our Prime Minister tweeted, demonstrating knowledge of the new landscape, allowing those that have interest in his professional and personal views, to follow him. It is legitimate to doubt this, not only because our government seems to widen the void between power and the people, but also because this would go against everything we have come to expect from a leader that is not in tune with its people, or reality to all effects.

For those who are oblivious to the most obvious, the owner of josesocrates on twitter clearly states that it is in fact a fake identity – what a pity. His offer to hand over control to the real José Socrates seems to have missed the attention of the government’s PR department – apparently there is one, just in case you wondered.

I then decided to check for an official page and was surprised to find José Socrates online – and yes in the format of a blog! Ah but wait – all is not what it seems. You see he seems to have lost the little steam he had and hasn’t published anything since 2005. How odd is that? He realized that blogging was important quite early on, took the bold step of initiating (albeit only one way – no comments or trackbacks allowed – just like TV!) a conversation yet then gave up.

So is this a real blog or another impersonator? My opinion is that it is in fact his – it´s boring plus the images give errors – technically defunct – ah the wonders of coherency. Basically it’s deteriorating and presents itself well beyond its sell by date – just like … This isn’t a political dig it’s a great example of the lack of interest and vision incumbent in our political leaders.

Our President addressed the nation and gave what I would deem as his best speech yet. He spoke of the new environment and that the future belonged to those that truly understand how technology and the changes taking place will require a new breed of talent. It was a motivational speech (even if read in the usual monotone) that must have confused our politicians who are too busy telling us it will all be ok.

The fact is that it won’t until we realize that it is not our government’s place to solve our problems but instead to guarantee safety and the services for which taxes exist. It is up to us however to mould our future. It would be great however to have someone to look up to and steer us as a whole in the right direction. Communication and a conversation must exist but that doesn’t happen through TV, print and radio!

So I went back and spoke to the Public Relations department for José Socrates and had a few questions that I needed answering. Unfortunately they were more interested in why I was enquiring than anything else. Plus they assured me that they monitor the internet – whatever that entails. Needless to say, I’m not the one needing assurance – I would hazard a guess that who needs assuring is in fact our beloved prime minister.

It would have been great to interview José Socrates but we never seem to have the time nowadays with our busy schedules. So he sent me this link with an interview whereby he demonstrates that at least he’s aware of something called the blogosphere…

  Verdict: TWIT

Tagged as: bad pr, fake, josé socrates, portugal, twit, twitter