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- Sep 30, 2011
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If you ask around about Jim Messina in Washington, you will get an extremely wide range of reactions. Some believe he is brilliant, others think he's ruthless. But there is one impression that everyone seems to share: "Jim is not afraid of anyone."
That isn't a bad prerequisite for Messina's next job. The 45-year-old Democrat, who organized Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign and this year orchestrated British Prime Minister David Cameron's spectacular, nail-biting win, is now getting into German politics. Messina has agreed to a consulting job in Berlin: He wants to help the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) beat Chancellor Angela Merkel of the conservative Christian Democrats in the next national election in 2017.
This Saturday, Messina will make his first appearance in this new capacity. The SPD plans to introduce their new helper for the first time at the so-called "Campaign Camp" in the Schöneberger Gasometer in Berlin. He will report on the newest trends in campaign work: data analysis, addressing voters and online communication.
The new job will likely be highly challenging to Messina for a number of reasons. In Washington, DC and London, he campaigned for incumbents; in Berlin he will work for a party that very few believe has a shot at the chancellorship in 2017. Merkel, in her 10th year as chancellor, is extremely popular, and her party is polling at around 40 percent. The Social Democrats have not been able to benefit from the coalition government they entered into together with her at all. Instead, they are occupied with internal conflicts mainly caused by party leader Sigmar Gabriel, who has recently cemented his image as a politician who flip-flops on the issues. The SPD is polling at around 24 percent.
Jim Messina: Obama Insider To Help Social Democrats Challenge Merkel - SPIEGEL ONLINE
This is going to be interesting to watch. I am torn between that would be an interesting experience and I dislike Merkel but it isn't my country.
That isn't a bad prerequisite for Messina's next job. The 45-year-old Democrat, who organized Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign and this year orchestrated British Prime Minister David Cameron's spectacular, nail-biting win, is now getting into German politics. Messina has agreed to a consulting job in Berlin: He wants to help the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) beat Chancellor Angela Merkel of the conservative Christian Democrats in the next national election in 2017.
This Saturday, Messina will make his first appearance in this new capacity. The SPD plans to introduce their new helper for the first time at the so-called "Campaign Camp" in the Schöneberger Gasometer in Berlin. He will report on the newest trends in campaign work: data analysis, addressing voters and online communication.
The new job will likely be highly challenging to Messina for a number of reasons. In Washington, DC and London, he campaigned for incumbents; in Berlin he will work for a party that very few believe has a shot at the chancellorship in 2017. Merkel, in her 10th year as chancellor, is extremely popular, and her party is polling at around 40 percent. The Social Democrats have not been able to benefit from the coalition government they entered into together with her at all. Instead, they are occupied with internal conflicts mainly caused by party leader Sigmar Gabriel, who has recently cemented his image as a politician who flip-flops on the issues. The SPD is polling at around 24 percent.
Jim Messina: Obama Insider To Help Social Democrats Challenge Merkel - SPIEGEL ONLINE
This is going to be interesting to watch. I am torn between that would be an interesting experience and I dislike Merkel but it isn't my country.
