Spin-doctoring in ancient Rome. A political public relations analysis of Cicero's election campaign strategy in 64 BC.

Abstract

This paper studies the public relations strategy of Quintus Cicero in the Commentariolum petitionis, that was written for the consular election campaign of Marcus Cicero in 64 BC, through the framework of political public relations. The author adopts a relational focus by putting relationships at the core of public relations. Using a set of six dimensions (honesty, trust, dependency, reciprocity, intimacy, common interests), the author qualifies the relationships in Quintus’ strategy and links them to a threefold relationship typology (personal, professional, community). Quintus’ strategy consists of two parts: enlisting the support of friends and gaining the goodwill of the people. The author argues that the relations with friends are of a professional nature, characterized by dependency and the reciprocal exchange of services, which confirms that amicitia was to a large extent a political alliance. At the same time, the relations with voters are of a community type, characterized by the promotion of common interests, which means that, while Roman elections were indeed centered around the personality of the candidate, they were not entirely apolitical. The author furthermore concludes that Quintus’ deployment of PR techniques is of a populist manner.