With respect…

‘With respect, that is a nonsense figure that you continue to trot out that you made up yourselves….’ those were the blunt wordsEmma Alberici put to Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, generating almost as muchcontroversy as the budget itself.

While much comment has focused on the style of questioning by Alberici and her colleague Leigh Sales, some interesting issues remain largely unexplored.

For example: how responsible are the media for holding politicians to account?

The evolving media landscape has wrought massive changes in how politicians communicate and journalists operate. The 24 hour news cycle has pushed politicians more than ever into the trusty sheaf of talking points, stifling real debate on issues of policy.

Meanwhile, media cutbacks have made it tougher for journalists to master policy areas and really challenge ministers on the facts and ideas, leading instead to the cheap theatre of ‘gotcha’ journalism.

As voters we desperately need someone to put the blowtorch to politicians, even if this comes at the expense of their feelings. If anything, we could criticise the ABC for not going harder on more politicians more often, especially those promoting unfunded feel-good policies.

Which brings us to a second ignored question: how much deference is due to politicians?

One of the great features of Australian democracy is that politicians are not put on a pedestal above the voter; a practical egalitarianism that has served the country well.

While not unique to Australia, it is at least unusual by international standards, where politicians often come from dynasties (eg the Bush family) or fantastic wealth (Italy’s Berlusconi). They are separated from the reality of ordinary people’s lives.

Australia risks losing something valuable if we become unduly deferential to the political class. Government by the people becomes government for the people.

There is no question that any politician being interviewed deserves a basic level of respect, and we can debate whether Alberici or Sales crossed the line.

But we should also applaud that in this country someone can ask the Treasurer how they can look Australians in the eye having not lived up to their promises. It might just mean that one day politicians start living up to them!