As you may or may not know, there have been exciting developments to the tired old two-party dynamic we’ve endured in this country for decades, as the Liberal Democrats (that ever lagging third option) enjoy a surge in the polls unlike any they have seen in a generation. And it is as a result of this that the really interesting developments have come about. You see, Rupert Murdoch, the most powerful unelected force in British politics, is facing the prospect of losing his stranglehold for the first time. Apparently, News Corp didn’t see this one coming.
Ever since the days of Margaret Thatcher, Murdoch has managed to snake his oily tendrils around the seats of power in this country, affecting policy to his own ends with the promise of using his media empire to facilitate the continuation, or installation, of whichever party seemed the safest bet. Aligning himself with the Conservatives in the 1980s, Murdoch saluted and cheered the Thatcherite model of privatisation, free-market deregulation, and union crippling, and saw his empire expand accordingly. As this empire expanded, so too did his malign influence, to the point where he believed (justifiably) that he could make or break a political candidate by utilising the full force of his newspaper, television and publishing armies. Indeed, Murdoch claimed that he was responsible for the Conservatives surprise win under John Major in 1992, simply by virtue of his media support. The view is backed up by Major’s defeated opponent at the time, Neil Kinnock.
In the lead up to the 1997 election, seeing how the tide was turning, Murdoch shifted his support to Tony Blair, allegedly greasing the wheels for Blair to both use his influence with Italian Prime Minister Romani Prodi over a Murdoch backed television acquisition in Italy, and offer some small support for Murdoch’s constant attacks on the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). Murdoch’s hatred for the BBC is well documented, seeing its licence-fee funded network of television stations and websites as a direct threat to his insatiable profit margin. Among other things, the BBC’s free-to-view news websites would severely hamper Murdoch’s intention to usher in a new era of pay-to-view web news. This, of course, is packaged rather differently, and the BBC is denounced by the Murdoch machine as a threat to ‘independent journalism’.
Skip forward to the years leading up to this general election. Blair is gone, New Labour is in trouble, and until recently, a Conservative win seems the surest bet. News Corp announces it will be backing Conservative leader, David Cameron, despite Murdoch’s lukewarm comments on the man. Conservative policy becomes suspiciously Murdoch friendly; as evidenced by Cameron’s recent assertions that it will seek to curb the powers of Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. It is, perhaps, a startling irony that Ofcom recently made a ruling against Murdoch’s Sky television network, forcing it to lower the prices it charges for its sports channels when selling them on to rival networks. Also, Cameron’s Conservative party have since taken a very aggressive stance toward the BBC. What are the odds?
So it would seem that the pendulum is simply swinging back again, the outcome assured, and once again, a man who holds no office and was elected by no-one has a tight and self-serving grip on the government of the day. Except this time something has changed. This time, the third party, never credited with a chance of winning and therefore never schmoozed by the wealthy and powerful, suddenly seems a likely candidate. The hurried and desperate smear campaigns by Murdoch’s media, intended to discredit Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg appear to have had little effect, and the possibility that Murdoch will finally be shut out of 10 Downing Street seems a real, if remote, possibility.
It’s probably too much to hope for. A hung parliament, in which the Lib Dems have some degree of power, rather than total power, is far more likely an outcome, but even that is a step in a most welcome direction. Polls are notoriously unreliable, and old voter habits die very hard. However, in light of the Murdoch owned FOX News’ inability to stifle the rise of President Obama, the slight hope that this unctuous, amoral man’s grip on British politics could also be loosened is a bright hope indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment