Political Circus

Carnet Hebdo

By Nita Chicooree-Mercier

The gap between grandstanding public statements at meetings and backstage plotting through illicit means has never been so glaring. This is what a premeditated and well-organized plan by a network of media stakeholders and politicians reveals in the wiretapping scandal that rocks Mauritius. Only a one-sided view of the phone-tapping saga, blaming the outgoing government, makes headlines in foreign press. It’s clear that foreign journalists — from France 24 to WION and Al Jazeera — get their information from their counterparts in the local press.

Do you expect stakeholders who benefitted from phone tapping to bring the culprits to court? As of now, hacking computers and phones is illegal and punishable by law. Yet the public reacts impulsively and emotionally to sensational leaks of political interference in the public sector, as if it were something new. Politicians rub their hands in glee, now that the job is done, but claim to be outraged and shocked in public discourse. The whole circus is laughable.

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Media Credibility

Another comic scene we witnessed recently was the hysteria and distress of mainstream international media following Trump’s landslide victory. What went wrong for the press? For The New York Times, CNN, BBC, Le Monde, The Guardian, France 24, LCI, and others, the 2016 anti-Trump campaign stooped to personal attacks, questioning his mental health, and indulging in cheap character assassination. He was portrayed as an unpredictable person who could press the “A” button anytime and blow up the planet. His successor backstaged a war in Ukraine, with devastating effects on food prices and consumer products worldwide.

This time, it didn’t sit well with the U.S. public. Trillions have gone to support Ukraine, with the arms industry pocketing huge profits. Leftist media ran short of arguments, resorting to portraying Trump as a misogynist and racist. To their surprise, the public shrugged off his womanizing habits. Blacks, Hispanics, Indians, and Asians voted for him. The Marxist card of rich-versus-poor? It failed. He created jobs for the lower-income bracket during his first term, boosting the local automobile industry and large-scale farming for export.

What is the state of the international press today? If we mean Western press, it often translates into European outlets rehashing whatever The New York Times puts out. After NATO’s intervention in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the nonstop bombings of Serbia, and Bill Clinton’s foundation receiving huge Gulf funds after Kosovo’s creation, we’ve learned to take Western media’s position on key international issues with a pinch of salt.

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The Local Press

Locally, most media are politically motivated, in perpetual campaign mode, and change sides every five years to suit sectarian and other lobbies. The public feeds on rumours, gossip, and half-truths circulating on social media, with little depth on crucial issues. A series of unqualified vloggers expressing themselves in coarse Kreol, attacking others with crude insults, does nothing to enhance the quality of public discourse. Something urgent must be done to stop the damage caused by a chaotic, monolingual hotchpotch approach that fails to intellectually uplift the public.

What do political parties stand for if not divided by clear ideologies? This is a question the local press would rather drop. However hard media and parties try to present a rational narrative by focusing on the economy, it is ultimately undermined by ethnic power struggles. It’s a taboo question, silenced in the name of “social harmony” until cracks inevitably appear.

Meanwhile, happier will be those who beg for intervention to save them from court rulings, secure juicy contracts, or cover up illicit dealings. The rest of the public will be promised a lower cost of living, dreams of better jobs, fewer taxes, and visions of harmony in a rainbow society.

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 15 November 2024