It is a mistake to ditch the poetry of the campaign once safely in office.

Former Governor of New York State Mario Cuomo once quipped that one campaigns in poetry but governs in prose. But though this nugget of political wisdom – used with great effect by Tony Blair – may appear obvious, it is in fact the kiss of death for social democracy.

The story of social democracy can be told as an epic tale, beginning with a penetrating account of unnecessary human suffering and ending with a vision of human society overcoming its shortcomings to create a better social order – a fairer, more just civic arrangement, not necessarily a great society but at least a good one. The plot line contains evil exploiters, heroic rebels, passionate action and a triumph of good over evil.

The viability of social democracy depends on its ability to recite this poem in way that is realistic, relevant and believable to its hearers – the voters and stakeholders of the society in which the social democrats wish to be elected. As the recent presidential campaign by Obama demonstrates, poetry has a tremendous power to elect. But can it govern?

For most social democrats the answer is a resounding no: once in government soaring ideals and visions are replaced with technocratic solutions to the problems they face, whether in the field of health care, economic growth or globalisation. And the Third Way – with its aggressive play for the centre, embrace of market deregulation and emphasis on narrow policy initiatives – represented a peak moment in the substitution of prose for poetry.

The recent crisis should serve as a reminder to social democrats of the elements of their poem. Capitalism does not, by itself, produce equitable or constant results; markets can be monstrous destroyers of livelihood as well as heroic generators of wealth; and civic democratic society frequently needs to mount a heroic challenge the dragons created by unregulated globalisation. To find the appropriate poem to recite to the citizens of Europe (and the rest of the world) should be part of the Good Society debate. But on its own this is insufficient.

Twenty-first century social democracy must learn to govern in poetry. The epic of a flawed system – based on un- or mis-regulated capital and the ability of civic society to overcome these shortcomings – needs to be central to governing strategy, not just to election rhetoric. Policy analysis, implementation strategy and budgetary struggles should be the servants of a social-democratic government’s goals, not its masters.

Social-democratic ideals demand a structure of government that affords a significant place at its governing table to the visionaries and deep thinkers. These will remind the leaders that policy serves ideals, rather than the other way around.

One must remember that good poetry requires technical sophistication, as does good music. But technical prowess by itself does not create aesthetic results – this can only be supplied by human creativity. In the body politic the ability to deeply understand the nature of politics and economics is a prerequisite for effective governance, but for social democrats this is only part of the process. Public policy creates the building blocks, the word patterns, but social democrats must use these to write a poetry of governance.