"Democracy does not come cheaply" complained right-wing commentator Ian Henderson in a recent article in the Australian.
According to Henderson, Labor, the Liberals and the Nationals spent a total of approximately $100 million in advertising during the last federal election campaign. Around $28 million was "contributed" by ordinary working people under legislation that allows a proportion of parties' election campaign costs to be reimbursed by the government if any of their candidates are elected.
Then there are the big financial backers. According to a recent Australian Electoral Commission report disclosing political parties' funding sources, one of Labor's millionaire supporters, Diana Gibson (heir to the Angliss fortune), dropped a cool $100,000 into ALP coffers last year. Western Mining Corporation gave the Coalition parties $275,000. Westpac took a more "principled" stance. Arguing (in its annual report) that the company "should support the democratic process ... by providing financial contributions to political parties", Westpac "honourably" gave Labor some $245,500, the Liberals $206,400 and the Nationals $65,000. The Australian Democrats "kept the balance", receiving $11,000.
The high cost of "democracy" seems to be worrying the editors of the Economist magazine as well. In a recent editorial they claim that US citizens "really are fed up" with the mountains of money spent on election campaigns. The solution, they argue, is to change that "dotty rule" — the first amendment in the US constitution that guarantees freedom of speech — and ban all political advertising on television because "the fair democratic process and unbridled free speech cannot always live together".
The real worry being expressed in those forums is that the legitimacy of capitalist politics is wearing thin. An increasing number of people are disillusioned with capitalist political processes and are beginning to realise that real power lies elsewhere — with big money.
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