Election Debates

The debate about the election debates is in full swing and my attention was caught by two articles in the Telegraph over the weekend.  On Saturday, Charles Moore applauded David Cameron's bravery in resisting the media clamour and pointed out that "the real question is, what makes us think that the demands of the broadcasters are the same as the rights of the voters?"  Plausible so far but Janet Daley on Sunday had a different angle.  She acknowledged that both main party leaders were running away from public debates because of the risk averse shackles of their respective party machines - pretty much an extension of Charles Moore's point.  However, Janet Daley went further by suggesting that the real reason for reticence is that "neither of them has a clear enough idea of what his party stands for to feel confident that he can state with forthright conviction - in the face of verbal assault from any direction - the straightforward truths to which he is committed." Quite so and if there are no arguments to pursue, what on earth is the point of a TV debate?