Political scandal, then and now
Ian Carmichael / 9th May 2006
I heard an interesting comment in a recent interview with Lady Edna Healey—wife of Denis Healey, a prominent English politician in the 1960s and 70s. She observed that there have always been scandals involving politicians, but that they have never been viewed by the media “with such intensity and enjoyment” as they are these days.
Her choice of the word “enjoyment” struck me as particularly apt. It really does often feel like the media relishes the opportunity to expose the shame of public figures. Where once we were scandalised and disapointed to learn of someone's moral failure, today there often seems to be a perverse pleasure taken in it.