Next Leader

Reality Series

Efthimios Harokopos

Introduction

There is a consensus among voters in democratic societies around the world and especially in the West that politics, politicians and political parties must be renewed with new people and new ideas and find new ways and solutions to deal with the escalating financial and social problems. The objectives of this reality series is (a) to make the selection of new political party leaders and politicians in general democratic from start, not only at voting time, (b) to open the doors of politics to more people and especially to those who have the qualities for the job but have no chance of joining a political party because they have no funds to spend on a campaign and no connections or ties with politics and (c) to provide the winner with the public recognition needed to start a new political party if he or she wishes.

The reality series will involve several stages and will last from 3 to 6 months. This is an introduction to the various stages of the show with the details to be finalized and agreed upon by production. The first stage is the screening of applicants. The second stage will require that those who are selected from the first stage move and live in a house as roommates. During the time they spend in the house the candidates will be asked to perform several tasks that will be designed to reveal who must stay and who must depart from the house, at regular intervals. This will also involve several tests, including but not limited to IQ tests, psychological tests, tests of knowledge in math, economics, finance, geography, political science and other subjects that cover knowledge politicians should posses. The selected candidates will also be asked to form hypothetical government cabinets in rotation, prepare plans for the corresponding ministries, like budget proposals, foreign policy goals, etc. Occasionally, there will be drills involving financial crisis or civil unrest, hypothetical wars and terrorist attacks where the candidates will be asked to coordinate teams for crisis management. Each candidate will be asked to rate the other candidates at regular intervals that will depend on the length of the series and to propose who to leave from the house. The public will also vote along with a judge panel. The candidates will appear once a week in front of the judge panel for a live broadcast where they will be asked questions they must provide answers to. The panel will consist of high profile figures in politics, economics and from labor leaders and other qualifying individuals. At the end of the day the voting of the public and the voting of the panel based on the recommendations of the candidates and the performance of the candidates themselves will determine who leaves the contest and the reality series.

The show will involve visits of the candidates to local parliaments and their introduction to high level officials for the purpose of gaining recognition. The final stage will include a debate between the last two candidates that have remained in the reality in which they both will assume they are running for office before an election. They will compete for their views and policies about the economy, foreign affairs and other hot current issues pertinent to the country where the contest is held. The public and the judge panel will vote for the final winner who will also receive a money award.

The reality series in more details

A possible setup of the reality series is offered next with a few more details about the various stages. The final form of the reality series will depend on production but will be based on the central theme presented in the introduction.

Judge Panel

The judge panel will consist of 6 to 8 or more individuals and may include a high profile retired politician, a recognized economist, a journalist, a psychologist, a lawyer and a businessman.

Candidate qualifications

Candidates for the reality series must have a university degree from an accredited institution, excellent written and oral command of the English language, at least 5 years experience in a management position of a company or 5 years running a private business, they must have filed tax returns for the previous 5 years and have a clean criminal record. Suggested age range: 35 to 65.

Stage 1: Screening of candidates

The screening of candidates will take place live, in front of the judge panel and all will have to answer one or two questions from each judge. The panel will vote on the spot whether the candidate will go to next stage of the reality series. If more than 20 candidates are selected, the screening will continue for the following week so that only 20 or less are selected.

Stage 2: Living in a house

After the screening stage, the candidates are asked to share a house. Parts of the house, like the living room and kitchen, are monitored live and the activity broadcasted.

Stage 3: Weekly tasks and candidate departures

In the period after a live show and before the next one, the candidates are asked to perform certain tasks and work on various projects, like preparing a budget and dealing with situations that are pertinent to the country where the reality series is taking place and are of current interest. The objective will be mainly for the candidates to get to know each other and to evaluate each other’s work. They also must take trips to meet with politicians and government officials in their country and abroad to gain recognition and experience. The candidates will be evaluated at the end of the week during the live show based on questions by the judge panel and the evaluation of other candidates. The judge panel will recommend two of the candidates to leave after a vote taking also into account the public votes and then the public will vote who will finally leave.

Stage 4: Final debate and winner selection

Before the final week only two candidates are left in the house and they must prepare to debate live, like two real politicians before an election date. They must debate on the current and real issues of the economy and political affairs of their country and present their views and solutions. Both the public and the judge panel will vote for the winner with a weight on the vote to be decided but usually equal to 50%.

Viewer Response

Viewers will be highly interested in such a reality series because it will give them the chance to evaluated possible alternative leaders and politicians of their country with new ideas and solutions that can have an impact in their life. No other reality series has had such a broad impact before and to this extend it is very different. The series will also give viewers a sense of direct involvement from the start of the development of a politician. It will also be highly entertaining as a show that involves highly competitive personalities that aim at high achievement and are willing to do everything to accomplish that.

Summary

The traditional ways of electing political party leaders and politicians in most countries are for the most part outdated and are viewed by skepticism from the public. Countries cannot any longer rely on selecting politicians and especially leaders from a small number of alternative candidates that either have a family history in politics or come from the ranks of an established political party. We need to increase the possibilities for finding the best qualifying individuals for the job and a reality series can highly contribute to that purpose. It can provide a democratic process of selecting from a broad range of candidates with fresh ideas and unique abilities. The winners will have both the recognition and the skills to form immediately a political party and ask for the vote of the public or even to join an established one as a leader or in a key position.

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