European Elections - are they happening

It seems that what could have been one of the most important polls in modern history (in my opinion) is turning out to be something of a damp Squibb. The national media are paying as little attention to it as they possibly can and the local media are doing even worse. I suspect that the lack of reporting is, in part, because they are no real sensational stories in the elections.

Low turnout seems inevitable ( even if it is bolstered by the local elections) but would be dreadful for our democracy, especially after the last General Election.

It seems after every election there are token comments about politicians mending their ways. But, enough is enough. The time has come for both politicians and the media to come together and sort this out. The problem is a joint one, with the media glorifying in everything bad, sad and indifferent about politics at the expense of good news; and politicians refusing to accept that bad news exists. Somewhere between the two is the useful middle ground that both groups need to occupy in order to restore faith in politics at the expense of their own egos and (in the case of the media) circulation. When it comes down to it our country is more important than the readership of any newspaper.

What is even more disturbing about this is that the local media are now starting to follow the habits of the National media and it is causing the same problem at the lowest levels of politics.