Barack Obama truly is a fascinating phenomenon. No wonder political candidates and pundits, practitioners and academics from many European countries cross the Atlantic this year to spend some time on the Democratic campaign trail in an attempt to discover Obama’s secret of success. “Yes, we can” apparently is his message of hope put in a rhetorical nutshell. The American people in 2008 once again feel they are lagging behind: The economy is on a down-turn, the dollar loses out to the Euro, Osama bin Laden is free and peace has not yet reached the theatres of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hope is what voters need and a man who represents a better future and who assures that “yes, we can do it.” More than a tangible message, Obama preaches a sensation of purpose blended with optimism. European campaign experts perceive the passionate message of a candidate who promises to “heal” the nation to be at the heart of the Obama story. So far this news would not make anyone raise an eyebrow — at least not within the USA.

What however is stunning are attempts by this batch of campaign managers to deploy the same rhetorical recipe in European politics. Germany’s Social Democrats whose recent dismal performance in elections and opinion polls reminds us of what Britain’s Labour Party goes through at present, are inclined to believe only an Obama-like leader could pull them out of their lasting agony. Alas, nobody of similar calibre is at hand. What the Social Democratic leadership prescribe themselves instead is Obama’s rhetoric. “Yes we can!....everybody ?Yes we can!`” the party’s secretary general yelled at a crowd of Social Democrats who met for their annual convention. The audience’s reaction was less than enthusiastic. Some delegates left the convention hall to avoid witnessing what they judged a pathetic performance. There are reasons to doubt that Europeans are ready to espouse the image of a political redeemer who makes ample use of religious vocabulary. Whilst candidates in the US convincingly appeal to providence and refer to their nation as “the chosen people”, it is difficult to imagine how this mixture could stir the hearts and minds of a Swiss, Austrian or Belgium electorate. Particularly German voters are weary of a politician whose rhetoric is verging on or crossing the border with blatant propaganda. Those few in the political arena who know how to use the pulpit to rouse the rabble are castigated as demagogues — an accusation that is very likely to temporarily derail if not entirely terminate their political career. The public’s scepticism with sleek rhetoric, eschatological metaphors, promises of hope, redemption and a golden era ahead is deeply rooted in history and dates back to the Nazi dictatorship which was notoriously headed by a man who was a brilliant if devilish operator of propaganda and campaign rhetoric. The Hitler experience helps Germans to debunk rhetorical propaganda and boo it. This is just one stark example of how different historical traditions and cultural settings prevent the translation of a victorious campaign model from one nation to the next. Apparently what works in the USA does not necessarily come to flourish elsewhere. Whilst the packaging of messages is a universal phenomenon, some audiences are more ready to appreciate the colourful wrapping, whilst others insist on seeing the content first