Record numbers of viewers have been tuning in to RTE to watch Rip Off Republic. Presenter Eddie Hobbs is regarded as a people's champion and government backbenchers are very worried. There are times when TV programmes seem to have a catalytic effect on public opinion. The dramatising of the Hepatitis-C case was said to damage Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan prior to the last general election. The bleak, black and white images of Eamon Morrissey as 'Minister for Hardship' is supposed to have permanently hardened attitudes to the Cosgrave coalition government in the 1970s. Fianna Fáil politicians worry that this could be a similar defining media moment and will suffer the electoral backlash as a consequence.
Last night's programme attracted nearly 750,000 viewers. Backbenchers are concerned that no government minister has mounted a significant defence of its position in the face of the programme's stance about the rip-off culture. Instead the reaction is to attack RTE, to the delight of opposition politicians who can accuse the government of RTE bashing as a means of concealing that they are clueless as to how to respond to the issues raised in the programme. Such controversy only ensures even greater viewing figures. The problem for the government and its supporters is that there is no defence. The problems raised by Hobbs are essentially structural and systemic and could only be overcome with fundamental changes in the way both public policy and private business practise is carried out.
"Effervescent Eddie" has struck a cord with people because, as the editorial in this morning's Examiner says that by protecting the interests of consumers, he is doing a job that politicians were elected to perform but have clearly failed to deliver. Meanwhile the battle over the Groceries Order is hotting up, with intense lobbying to ensure that the Order stays intact. If Eddie Hobbs decided to form some kind of Citizens Movement and put up candidates at the next election he could possibly cause a massive upset. His populist style and popular cause could be a winner.
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