Political Tedium: What Happened During the Leaders’ Debate
That was the leadership that was – two hours of tedium on a wet November night. Think of it as a slow cooker: sure, it’s got potential, but you’re left wondering if it’ll ever actually simmer into something watchable. Many, I daresay, will have gone to bed long before its scheduled 11:30pm finish. So, for those of you who embraced the cozy embrace of your duvet rather than be tortured by the debate, we’re here with the highlights—or should I say lowlights—of the evening, complete with marks out of ten for each candidate at the end.
Now, just to set the scene, picture a stage filled with ten party leaders—there’s more of them than there are in a rugby team! You could practically hear the collective yawn echoing across the nation. Maybe we should’ve just handed them all a blanket and some cocoa to make it a pajama party!
Best Moment: None
Yes, you heard that right! The best moment was touted as zero. One leader did manage to highlight that she was the granddaughter of a refugee (because that’s genuinely important in a debate? Okay…). She even earnestly emphasized the plight of children in homelessness, which warmed a few cockles—until you realized that warm feelings don’t pay the rent, do they? She called for an active State to intervene in housing, which made me wonder if perhaps the State was too busy passing the salt while we’re starving for solutions.
Who knew two hours of political content could resemble a never-ending Netflix series nobody asked for? The stakes were high, the spirits were low, and let’s face it, you could have swapped any of these party leaders with the cardboard cutouts in your local supermarket and the outcome would barely have changed. Were they discussing politics or just trying to get through a particularly dull episode of a medical drama? You decide!
It’s a tough gig, standing there under the bright lights, yet I couldn’t help but think that some leaders might actually be more effective if they used interpretative dance to get their points across. Who needs policies when you’ve got moves, am I right?
Final Thoughts
So, the next time there’s a leadership debate, do us all a favor—bring your knitting or binge-watch that true-crime series instead. You’ll thank me later. And as for the candidates? Well, I hope they at least got a decent meal backstage because what we saw up front certainly wasn’t good enough to keep anyone awake!
That was the leadership that was – two hours of tedium on a wet November night. Many will have gone to bed long before its scheduled 11.30pm finish, so here is our summation of how they all individually did – with a mark out of ten for each at the end.
Best moment: None. Emphasised the plight of children in homelessness. Earnestly called for an active State that would take an interventionist stance in relation to housing provision.
What are the common criticisms of political debates according to recent analyses?
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