Cynicism

Many words have been used to describe this election campaign and none of them are particularly flattering. From doyens of journalism such as Paul Kelly down to giggly and uninformed disc-jockeys on commercial FM, the consensus has been that it’s been superficial, unambitious, contrived, with both leaders often pretending to be something which they are not in order to win votes.

Without wishing to drift into the kind of mindless nihilism which Mark Latham displayed on 60 Minutes, it has been hard to get too excited about the policy debates, to the extent that there have really been any detailed or meaningful policy debates. Both sides have run relentlessly negative campaigns against their opponents. The end result of this can only be an erosion in our collective faith in politics and a further diminishment, if that indeed is possible, of the standing of politicians in the eyes of the community.

This election campaign is one which we should remind our politicians of in future when they start complaining about the rougher than usual treatment they receive for making the selfless decision to go into public life, and endure the slings and arrows it entails, on salaries which are easily eclipsed by what is on offer in the private sector.

Continue reading "Politicians complain about cynicism, but they drive it" »

Winston Churchill once said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried”. I think Winston and I are on the same wavelength.

The more I think about it, the less I care about politics, mainly because of all the distractions, stunts, negativity and opportunism that gets in the way of how the system is supposed to work, preventing our elected representatives from effectively governing the country.

MPs trade their personal beliefs for the party line, governments are hesitant to green-light projects that will only show results past their term, and election promises are forgotten without consequence. In the political world, style trumps substance at every opportunity as candidates prioritise being seen participating in ironman events over providing meaningful political input. Then they get attacked for it, and the cycle starts again.

Continue reading "Abbott and Gillard try to beat my apathy. Does it work?" »