TV election debates are useless

I watched a televised debate last night featuring the leaders of all political parties and groupings in Ireland. I kind of knew what I was getting myself into but I watched nonetheless. What I witnessed was a chaotic circus of sloganeering, glorified NPC dialogue and I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I. Each leader was more interested in sniping their opponents with sick burns than laying out their policy so the electorate would actually have some idea of who they’re going to vote for and why. It all boils down who can land the most zingers and who can answer with as few um’s and aw’s as possible.

It got me thinking about the recent Trump election. In interviews with Trump voters you will often hear them say that he doesn’t “talk like a politician”. He says things that you don’t expect to hear from politicians and his overall demeanour is something new in that sphere. I’m by no means complimenting Trump but you can’t deny it contributed massively to his appeal. I really hate to say it but the politicians who actually give a shit about other people should take note.

The kind of televised debate that I watched last night gave no room for thoughtful discussion, taught the electorate very little about the motivations of the candidates and frequently devolved into a cacophony of voices. I followed the commentary on Bluesky and people were talking about it like a soap opera that was so bad it had become unintentionally funny.

The Echo Chamber Podcast has for the last few weeks been interviewing first time candidates from around the country. One such candidate who isn’t standing in my constituency impressed me so much with his humility, honesty and good humour that if he were on the ballot in my area I would have absolutely voted for him. The format and tone of the conversation matters immensely. The current mainstream coverage of elections is chronically outdated. This safe and sanitised way of interviewing political candidates is just no longer fit for purpose. This needs to change or we’ll keep electing more Trumps.