Dissent and freedom of speech

Democracy (the real one) is synonymous with freedom and human rights as enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Freedom of expression enables members of the society to give their opinion, to engage in robust discussion about government policies, to oppose and disagree if they so wish. Freedom of association allows the formation of political groups, groups with common interests to establish and promote their ideas or to lobby the government with respects to policies, etc. These groups, political or apolitical, are common and relevant features of a democratic society.

Governments have to continue to woo the electorate or voters to their policies. If not, they will only stay in power till the next elections. The other political parties, who would like to be voted in to form the next government, will try its best to sell its policies too, whilst criticising the current government’s policies. There is continuous pressure on the government to have the right policies, to continue to manage well, and to continue to engage with the public. The people can never be taken for granted and the government has to listen to their concerns..

Let me illustrate the above points with an Australian example. Every year, the government has to present its budget to Parliament. The budget embodies the government’s policies and plans, and sets out how funds will be allocated for various government programmes.

The Australian Labor Party, which had won the recent elections, presented its budget through the Treasurer a week ago. Prior to Budget day, some speculations of the proposed changes found their way to the media and were tested in an informal way. The media, in its usual role, canvassed and reported on public opinion. Talk back radios were active with reactions on the speculations. So there was a big build-up to this important event of the year.

The Budget is always presented at 7.30 pm, long after the stock market had closed. The Treasurer holds the stage and makes his speech, which is broadcast live over TV and radio.
After the presentation is over, there will be interviews with the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader and Shadow Treasurer (in the Australian system, these opposition leaders enjoy a salary paid from government funds). As the commentators will say, the hard sell starts now, to woo the public. Polls will eventually be conducted to see how the public reacted to the Budget.

Two nights after the Budget night, the Shadow Treasurer (Opposition) makes his reply speech in Parliament. In it, he will attempt to bring out all the negatives of the government’s budget and counters with the policies of his party. This is again followed by a few more days of engagement in robust debates about policies, until it loses media and public interest.

Last night, the Prime Minister was interviewed (or grilled) by Kerry O’Brien, a formidable presenter on ABC’s The 7.30 Report. This is never a friendly pro-government interview. O’Brien tried his best to corner the PM on various aspects of the budget, the opposition’s counter proposals, or the reactions from various groups e.g. pensioners. (The previous day, some pensioners took off their shirts during a demonstration on a busy street, accusing the government of neglecting them in the budget). The PM, on the other side, tried to demonstrate that he has all the facts and knowledge of all aspects of the budget, and more. So there were a lot of difficult questions and attempts to put a different spin to things. This type of debate is always done in a friendly but business-like manner. They say that it would be unAustralian to lose your cool in public or on TV. Doing that would change the perception voters have of you and lose you quite a few votes.

One wonders why the Prime Minister subjects himself to such an interview. There are various reasons – to defend his policies, to sell to the electorate, to show that he is not hiding from the public reaction, to beat the drums if the public opinion is favourable. It is democracy at work.

Freedom of speech is a key ingredient in democracy. To be a leader in a real democracy, you have to have good communication skills, a willingness to engage with others in public debate, an ability to keep smiling under pressure.

How will such a political model fare in developing countries? To be continued in the next blog.