Desperate times

In the movie The American President, incumbent Andrew Shepherd delivers his dénouement from the podium with a candid piece of political advice by telling his audience that:

“.. whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson [his opponent] is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections.”

So it’s kind of reassuring that Daniel Davies, BBC Wales’ online political reporter, was able to highlight the self-same principles at work in his account of Assembly election campaigning. The Western Mail also picked up the theme in reporting that tories in Newport have been ‘persuaded’ to withdraw a leaflet which claimed the future of Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital was under threat. (Ditto Neath Port Talbot).

In fairness to the various mainstream combatants, the time-honoured tactic of scaremongering is probably the only viable remaining option left given that each is so patently lacking in a distinctive message & coherent means of delivery of their own. All political roads, it seems, lead to the same destination of a squeezed public sector - albeit by slightly different roadmaps. Somehow voters are meant to be distracted by this stark outcome by being offered a chance to throw rocks at the Westminster coalition or else grasp at tenuous 'mitigation' packages based upon some fiscal sleight of hand a.k.a. 'pledges'.

And if all else fails, you can always get your opponent nicked for harassment.