Column: Political scandals are dangerous entertainment

Minister Lintila’s humorous (?) messages on Whatsapp about Sanna Marin. Riksdag member Matthias Makinen’s Nocturnal Adventures in Vaasa. Leaked party videos of the Prime Minister.

Not many of us associate politics with debates about important social issues, the hour of questions for parliament or municipal elections. For many, the picture is more pessimistic. Then politics is often seen through the steady stream of scandals in the evening press releases. If this sentiment seems particularly strong right now, it may be because political scandals do indeed often occur just before elections and we have the next parliamentary elections in just six weeks.

To be sure, the increasing recurrence of scandals in connection with the elections is due at least in part to attempts to influence voter behavior. Journalists closely scrutinize the actions of politicians during election campaigns, making it more likely that scandals will be reported. It would be easy to imagine that pre-election scandals could have a major impact on election results, but it doesn’t seem like that. Research indicates that political scandals have little effect on voters. People are usually willing to continue supporting a candidate despite the scandal, if the candidate represents the right party. On the other hand, there is little sympathy for candidates from other parties who have found themselves in trouble.

Completely indifferent Not the voters anyway. It appears that serious scandals, which also involve ethically questionable events and occur just before an election, can lead voters to sanction a politician, regardless of party affiliation. So, if you want to get rid of yourself, it’s best to get rid of it at the beginning of the semester. Voters’ political memory is short and stresses events temporarily approaching Election Day.

According to many recent analyses, female politicians are exposed to more scandals than men. This may be because voters’ expectations regarding the integrity of politicians are higher for female than for male politicians. When expectations are not met, men get away with it more easily, because the bottom line may have been lower to begin with.

Although it is political The impact of scandals on election results is relatively limited, and scandals can be very heavy for individual politicians on a personal level. We all do stupid things, but hardly anyone is scrutinized as closely and publicly as politicians. For those of us who only look at events through running notes, every politician’s purgatory is just another case among many similar ones. Political entertainment, comparable to cheap reality TV. For the politician involved, it can be a very traumatic event.

As a voter, you don’t have to accept bad behavior from elected politicians. Be generous though. Behind the public facade, there is always a person, whose private business easily falls under the magnifying lens of the media. The media, whose logic controls the number of clicks a news item generates, is also welcome to engage in self-reflection. Preferably now when campaigning is about to start.

Lauri Rapeli, Head of Research at Åbo Akademi University