That's poor analysis. Hard truths are fine if you set out a clear vision as to how you're going to improve people's lives long-term rather than just cutting regulations and hoping the private sector sort everything out - all while splashing benefits for society's most vulnerable.
Which is illuminating. On many levels. I’ll just gently mention that the media (in general, not you specifically) were very quick (July last yr) to start saying “you can’t just keep blaming the previous gov for….”
The same media who were still bringing up the joke note left in 2010 in July last yr!
Selecting a narrative of ‘hard truths’ has no bearing on whether any honesty is actually taking place. The media seem to find this harder to grasp than the electorate.
Political science has pretty robust evidence that austerity for austerity’s sake tends to be terribly unpopular. There’s very few ways to make sweeping cuts to services with large n of beneficiaries popular, but you ensure that they’re unpopular by not contextualising within a larger vision
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The same media who were still bringing up the joke note left in 2010 in July last yr!