Politics has increasingly lost the ability to define, communicate and deliver on issues of their own. Instead of setting the agenda, politicians often find themselves reacting to demands coming from the political extremes — while losing sight of the concerns and expectations of the centre of society.

But political communication cannot succeed without substantive issues, and political leadership cannot succeed without the ability to own those issues. This session explores what modern issue management could look like: How can politicians identify the issues that genuinely matter to the centre, develop credible positions, communicate them effectively — and, crucially, deliver on them?

What does it take for Europe's next generation to move from reacting to leading, from defending positions to shaping the agenda, and from communicating promises to demonstrating results?