WHAT'S ON BRITSKÉ LISTY

Pre-election Expressionism

25. 5. 2010 / Bohumil Kartous

Daily Mladá Fronta Dnes had a front page on Monday 25. 5. 2010 which was a lesson in manipulation. Under a big picture of a triumphant Czech hockey team and the huge headline "Gold!", the newspaper ties to another "great" piece of news: "Social Democrats loses voters, Civic Democrats up in the polls". The scores of the political game are just in case paired with the win from our golden Czech boys. And the article was complemented by a graphic, which showed how the polls are changing just a few days before the end of the game and showing an opportunity for center-right winger voters to be taken advantage of. As if warning that there is still a chance to change the election results in favor of the Civic Democrats.

A Czech version of this article is in CLICK HERE

What we can read from that front page of the newspaper, in between the lines is: just as our hockey players got up towards the end of the game to an unexpected victory, the same can happen in the political arena. The analogy is almost perfect, for the Czech players pulled it off evening out the scores just 7 seconds before the end of the semifinal game with Sweeden and in the end, thanks to a strong determination, won the match.

And the final game was played against the "Red" Russians (the Czech players until now, and with pleasure, use this pejorative expression against that nation's team), who by the way were from the start the favorites to win. Just as the "Red" Social Democrats in the political match.

And the newspaper also had a great timing for that headline connected to the poll: it was the last day allowed for the publication of polls, according to Czech electoral laws.

To top it all, the readers were offered, in the bottom of the front page, the hope that they can lose 5 kilograms in 5 minutes... "Basics of how to dress in a clever way, which will make you look thinner. Concrete tips for each type of party", went the piece.

Victory, faith, hope in the fable of the diet cocktail, what else could someone want from a "serious" newspaper just a few days before the elections, right?

Vytisknout

Obsah vydání | Pondělí 2.8. 2010