Political brands are the most difficult to sustain.

Arc of Azadi Tower, Tehran

Was reading a profile on Hassan Rouhani, the outgoing Iranian president, in the Middle East Eye. On his long political rise and now decline. While interesting in itself, what jumped at me in the story is the meta: that political brands are the most difficult to sustain.

For a politician, their campaign never ceases. Every single act counts towards perception and response. Even before you are sworn in, you are literally campaigning for the next elections.

Apparently, what brought Rouhani down was a series of mismanaged situations in the last four years, including protests, the plane shoot-down and Covid. Some of which may have been brought on deliberately by his detractors.

In business, a leader’s success is primarily in the value they create for investors. But for a political leader, the value they create is not enough. It also has to land in the minds of people as 'real, relevant value'. While battling currents set into motion by opposition.

We sort of naturally, even subconsciously, understand it, having seen this cycle repeat over and over. But deconstruct it, and you see that in politics *the brand is the business*.

 And it is perhaps this difficulty of sustaining a brand continuously in the minds of people, that pushes politicians to focus on weakening the opposition. Reduce the number of distractions in the battlefield of perception - and win via negativa.