The votes are in. According to the polls, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg came out on top, with the majority of viewers agreeing that he gave the best performance. But is this the X factor or the running of the country?
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As it stands, we don’t actually know for sure whether the live debate has had much impact on voting decisions, although it seems clear that it was incredibly popular viewing. Facebook and Twitter homepages were completely littered with commentaries during the debate with all ages getting involved in the discussion in some way. Public Engagement – tick.But is this X Factor style of political debate something we should take seriously or is it just sheer entertainment? Perhaps the setting does offer an interesting dimension to the different parties in the way that the leaders are put under pressure and tested on their debating skills. But did it help you to make your decision? Did you find out anything you didn’t know before?
It’s likely that the live debate was successful in reaching audiences that otherwise might not have paid much attention to the different parties in the past. In that sense, surely it’s a good thing. What did you think about the live debate – a worthwhile public engagement exercise or a cringeworthy battlefield of clashing personalities?
Certainly a worthwhile exercise in my opinion, and an act which will go along way to breaking the dull, monotomous two-party monopoly the Tories and Labour currently control.
ReplyDeleteAs it stands at the moment, we elect a government pretty much based on their marketing budget (which the Lib Dems simply cannot compete with) as Clegg says in todays Guardian "If this election is a contest of ideas and not a contest of advertising budgets - of policy over posters - then it will be a massive win for the Liberal Democrats."
I think it has had a much greater impact than those who have worked to get these debates for the past 20 years dared to imagine. The first programme changed the attitude of the media towards the LibDems in a way they could never have imagined. Only the previous week jokes were made on Have I Got News For You leaving them out of the discussion - LibDems Who? For that party, one 90 minute tv programme did what they have been trying and failing to do for years. The balance of power has shifted in the run up to the election with Clegg even suggesting today that in the event of a hung parliament he would side with the party that chose to change the electoral system to one of proportional prepresentation and that he would not be able to work with Labour unless GB stood down. Things are about to get very nasty indeed, I can hear them sharpening the knives! I think the success of these debates can be measured in the reaction to them by the media and how that may in turn influcence the result.
ReplyDeleteClearly that's proportional representation. Proportional prepresentation must be about homework or something
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