Opinion

[03/04/2008]

Business

It’s productivity and competitiveness, stupid!

The famous phrase, it’s the economy, stupid, that reveals the importance of the economy in election contests and which, among other issues, enabled Bill Clinton to win the USA presidential election against Bush senior, is, in the case of Spain, more applicable than ever. Finally, a term of office has ended, marked, as I see it, by a clear disorientation of the political class in general, there are always some respectable exceptions, in relation to the diagnosis and competitive challenges that the Spanish economy and, by way of extension, the Catalan economy have to face in a future that is increasingly shown to be more immediate. Beyond partisan evaluations, very often exaggerated in their optimistic or pessimistic approach depending on the political tint through which they are viewed, the structural certainty is that, at the start of the twenty-first century, economic activity in Catalonia is coming to the end of a model, and has to face profound changes decisively that once again place it at the forefront of European regions. You will allow me therefore, throughout this article, to be politically incorrect and to offer as impartial, scientific and revelatory a description as possible of the current state of the Catalan economy, and the main challenges that it has to face in the immediate future.

[12/03/2008]

Political communication

The election campaign and the use of ICTs

The current election campaign is making the news for the continual and innovative use of ICTs by the parties and their candidates. In particular, the analysis of the parties and candidates’ websites during the election is one of the lines of investigation of the GADE Group (E-Governance, Administration and Democracy) at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Open University of Catalonia, UOC). A new feature of these elections is the intensive use of internet social networks and the large number of videos taken by members of the public. In addition, websites have become central for the organisation of the campaigns. They have been used for the recruitment of volunteers and have performed multiple tasks, such as disseminating information, communicating with the parties’ leaders and representatives, creating support networks, donating money, enrolling members, expressing opinions and making proposals. More than ever, the traditional media (radio, press, TV) have used the contents and instruments on parties’ websites as sources of information and even GADE Group members have been interviewed by the media in relation to the new developments. Below we outline the questions most frequently put to GADE’s lecturers and researchers, Rosa Borge, Ana Sofia Cardenal and Albert Padró.