Political Slogans

Often you can tell a lot about a country, it's political climate, current affairs, and other such matters simply by looking at the slogans political parties use to woo voters.

Please share with us some slogans from political parties in your country and offer a little insight into what you believe they represent in society at this time.

For example, the Party of Democratic Action is Bosnia and Herzegovina's main Islamic party. Immediately following the war, its slogan was "They vote for their own, what about you?" - a clear attempt to win the Bosnian Muslim vote by playing our own nationalist card, and stoking the fear of what the country's other ethnic groups had in their deck.

Today, after the September 11th terrorist attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the controvery involving Turkey's European Union membership (Which, true or not, is viewed in Bosnia purely, completely, 110% as a knee-jerk, prejudiced reaction against Muslims and Islam) - their slogan has changed.



The Party of Democratic Action's new slogan is "Evropski, a Sarajevski!", which means "European, and Sarajevan!" or "Of Europe, and of Sarajevo!". To me, it's a clear manifestation of the conflict in Bosnia brought about by the events I mentioned above. Bosnians are confused about whether they are European, Muslim, both, or neither. The Party of Democratic Action has decided to exploit this confusion. Bosnians reading this slogan won't have any of their questions answered, they'll simply think: Oh, the SDA will sort it out then! (And as an aside, I know for a fact at least three of the un-veiled women in this photograph usually wear a veil. And there are very rarely 9 women for every 7 men at any SDA event - lol)

It also plays into Sarajevo's pride. Residents of Sarajevo look down on the rest of Bosnia, indeed the rest of the world. So convinced are they that Sarajevo is the best thing on God's green earth that simply saying "European" would never be enough for the local market, though it is also the same. By adding the "and Sarajevan", they alleviate fears of a cultural takeover by the West (moreso America than Western Europe) among older SDA supporters, and also play into the "hip and trendy Islam" that younger Bosnians adore because it makes us unique, different, "better".

You'll notice the SDA uses different tactics in different areas. Campaign posters in Kozarac, for example, are very different. Kozarac was completely destroyed during the war. It's people were, quite literally, loaded onto cattle cars and taken to death camps. Thousands survived and now the village is one of the only thriving Muslim communities in Serb-controlled regions of Bosnia.

The campaign poster there shows a crossed-out Qur'an with the word "BANNED" on it - which clearly plays to the concerns of residents of Kozarac.

In Bihac, in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is again different. Bihac was, for all intensive purposes, liberated by the Croatian Army. Serbian forces had bombed the city day after day for years and - even though it was almost 100% inhabited by Muslims - the Croatian army sacrificed its soldiers to liberate the people. There SDA posters show a Croatian and Bosnian flag with the slogan, "Blood ties" - a clear attempt to suggest they will continue pursueing close political and economic ties with neighboring Croatia. (To give you a hint of the gratitude felt by Muslims in Bihac towards the Croatian Army, however misguided they are among the most vocal supporters of fugitive general Ante Gotovina, who has been indicted for crimes against Croatian Serbian civilians in the 'Lightning Operation', in which Croatia took back the 75% of their country which the Serbs had taken in 1991 and "cleansed" of Croats. Posters supporting him constantly appear on mosques, etc.)

All of these sorts of things fascinate me!

Please, please, please share some slogans from your country!


Edited by Mila