Is there any genuine, programmatic politics in the mainstream press? Judging by the mainstream’s coverage of the ALP national conference, it would appear not.
When Labor was in a doldrums period in the mid-2000s (before brief success and then a return to the doldrums), there was intense debate about what Labor needed to do. Bill Shorten added his take: what Labor needed to succeed was more success. He was laughed at for that, but he was sorta right.
Once you’re on the upswing, your words acquire weight and force. But getting back to that point relies on your words having meaning and force. And round it goes.
The paradox of opposition has been a factor for a long time. But, hell, the Opposition used to actually get reported on. It used to be thought that the proceedings and decisions of an opposition party national conference would be worth reporting on at some length, and with some comprehensiveness, by the major press.
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