Election debated within narrow parameters

Elections campaigns are increasingly run by the public relations industry. You do your market research, find out what your customers want, and then produce a product to sell to that market. This is exactly what Fianna Fáil did in 2002 when Bertie Ahern claimed on national television just before the election that 'Health will be our number one priority'. There is a need, therefore, for progressive media outlets to cut through, undermine and expose the PR and propaganda that the right-wing parties (FF, FG, Lab and the PDs) will engage in. They will attempt to define the debate on very narrow grounds, and let the debate rage within those parameters. It's up to those of us on the left to redefine the parameters of the debate so that issues of real concern to working people are discussed and debated.

Mark Walshe