At 27/01/02 15:24 -0500, you wrote: >Chris Burford wrote: > >>According to the German polling organisation, Emnid, the popularity of >>the euro has leapt up with its introduction in Germany. >> >>Last quarter last year only 33% thought it right to introduce the euro. >>This month 65% support the decision. >> >>Three quarters believe that the intoduction of the euro will also lead to >>close political union. >> >>This is an interesting lesson in guided democracy, since a referendum in >>Germany at any time up to this month might well have derailed the euro >>project. But the interests of large capital prevailed, and once achieved >>the mass of the people see the advantages of a large market and a large state. > >It's not just that - it shows how polls operate within the status quo. >Slavoj Zizek has an analysis of this somewhere making the point that while >some policy may not poll well at first, if a politician were to make a big >case out of it, it could change the whole frame of debate. > >Doug
Yes, Tony Blair will be looking at this swing with great interest. The point you make from Zizek is clearly a description of what can happen, especially if there are material interests pushing the politicians. At least with the fall of the Soviet Union we can take a more pragmatic and less idealised view of what constitutes the wonders of 'democracy'. Chris Burford
