unoriginalname38 – the blog of Dave Cole

The Sun, Cameron and Brown

The Sun has issued its latest edict in the form of its Sun Says column. It starts with a hagiography of Brown before declaring:

For the first time, he will be pitted directly against David Cameron, the most popular Tory leader for 15 years. Both have plenty to prove between now and polling day.To the people of Britain. And especially to Sun readers.

Is that so? It looks an awful lot to me like The Sun and its proprietor are asking both Brown and Cameron to pander to a particular set of interests. The Sun sets itself up to rubbish future members of the cabinet as it says that Brown is "a colossus in a cabinet of pygmies" and demanding that Brown stick to a particular line - especially opposition to the Euro.

The beginning of the article runs:

LABOUR’S clumsy rule book is forcing us to wait two months to confirm what we already know – Gordon Brown is our next Prime Minister. What a waste of time! A party in Opposition can afford this sort of self-indulgence. But not one that is supposed to be running the country. It might just about be acceptable if there were a serious contest.

Or, in otherwords, The Sun does not believe there should be any process of renewal in power. Equally, it does not want to acknowledge that the deputy leadership is causing a real debate within the Labour Party and that said debate is, to a great extent, about reconnecting with the party. It is indicative of the newspaper's cynical attitude to Labour and to its readers and its minimalist attitude to democracy. Particularly given that The Sun is an irrepentently right-wing newspaper, it's a shame that we pander to that tendency so much.

xD.

UPDATE 2257: while this is perhaps indicative of the current torpor of my mind, it's worth pointing out. I posted here about Cameron wasting his PMQs to press Tony Blair on the leadership of the Labour Party and the future PM; the same point occurs, as above, shortly afterwards in The Sun. Shurely shome mishtake?

Labels: Labour, Tories

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