Post by PeterB on Jul 24, 2010 10:31:13 GMT -4
*sigh*
Australia is having a federal election on 21 August, and the only television debate between the leaders of the two main parties is this Sunday. Normally it'd be in prime time - 7.30pm - but this time it was brought forward an hour so it doesn't clash with the Masterchef Grand Final.
Don't get me wrong. MC is a good show. For a rarity among reality shows, the contestants aren't made to look silly for the viewing pleasure of the general public. Instead, it's a show about rewarding and praising the contestants who do well. And it's become one of the most watched shows in Australian television history, probably partly for this and partly for the fact that Aussies love watching shows about food. (We're just not that great at being cooks at home...)
But come on, people, it's a federal election. You know, the time we decide which major party will lead the country for the next three years. And it's even topical - the current Prime Minister has only been in the job a little over a month, and the Leader of the Opposition has held that job for barely half a year. There are even major policy differences between the parties.
Ah, who am I kidding? The current PM supposedly belongs to the left wing of the Labor Party. If people in the USA think Obama is a socialist, someone from the left wing of the Australian Labor Party would make Lenin look like a tub-thumping conservative. But her policies bear little relationship to someone who supposedly holds such a position - she opposes gay marriage, has copied the previous (conservative) government's policy on asylum seekers and is strenuously trying to avoid doing anything about global warming.
Yeah, I don't think I'm going to bother watching the debate. Both leaders are trying so hard not to make a mistake that they're going to do everything they can to avoid taking a position on anything...
Now, where's my frypan.
Australia is having a federal election on 21 August, and the only television debate between the leaders of the two main parties is this Sunday. Normally it'd be in prime time - 7.30pm - but this time it was brought forward an hour so it doesn't clash with the Masterchef Grand Final.
Don't get me wrong. MC is a good show. For a rarity among reality shows, the contestants aren't made to look silly for the viewing pleasure of the general public. Instead, it's a show about rewarding and praising the contestants who do well. And it's become one of the most watched shows in Australian television history, probably partly for this and partly for the fact that Aussies love watching shows about food. (We're just not that great at being cooks at home...)
But come on, people, it's a federal election. You know, the time we decide which major party will lead the country for the next three years. And it's even topical - the current Prime Minister has only been in the job a little over a month, and the Leader of the Opposition has held that job for barely half a year. There are even major policy differences between the parties.
Ah, who am I kidding? The current PM supposedly belongs to the left wing of the Labor Party. If people in the USA think Obama is a socialist, someone from the left wing of the Australian Labor Party would make Lenin look like a tub-thumping conservative. But her policies bear little relationship to someone who supposedly holds such a position - she opposes gay marriage, has copied the previous (conservative) government's policy on asylum seekers and is strenuously trying to avoid doing anything about global warming.
Yeah, I don't think I'm going to bother watching the debate. Both leaders are trying so hard not to make a mistake that they're going to do everything they can to avoid taking a position on anything...
Now, where's my frypan.
