Monophonic monopoly

When I started this blog less than a year ago, I promissed myself to stay away from the wishy washy domestic politics that every country suffers from and especially marks the day-to-day in a small country like Portugal. 

In early June last year I observed how after financial analists, investors, economists and politicians, historians came up to the media stage to bring their explanations as to what would have gone wrong in western free market economies and the therewith associated public finances.

Now, in Portugal, we see a range of commentators, some more politically driven than others, at more or less patronizing tones, comparing the country's status and political acts or lack thereof with simple family households.  All this in response to the paralised non-communication between the country's largest two political parties, both signatories to the foreign financial adjustment programme, one in government, the other eagerly wanting to be.  The mudthrowing tone a viewer is confronted with compares to the type of easy scripted frases one can equally find on the next tv channel albeit in the shape of soap series.

So now commentators feel a need to get back to basics and illustrate on national television how when a couple borrows money, both will need to consent to the repayment conditions and if in financial dificulty will need to commit and undertake changes in spending habits.

Duhhh.

This is not about financial and operational restructuring, sustainable welfare, not to mention a search for long term economic growth.  What a population is stuck with is the same sad and even scary politically monopolized situation it was confronted with in 2011 when the inability of both these political parties predictably drove the country into having to have to contract a bailout. 

Apparently one item both these political parties do agree upon is a roughtly € 130 million the government has reserved for all parties to run their campaigns in 2013, that is the money parties "need" to "communicate" to a population why they are the best positioned to come to govern the country.

I would suggest Portugal exports a majority of political players to Bollywood.  Everbody wins.