What MPs owe the media is more than money

A section of MPs during the ParliamentSession after the long recess . February 11th,2025.[Elvis Ogina/Standard]

There is an old temptation in politics, to praise the press in principle, use it in practice, and resent it the moment it begins to do its real work. That temptation is written all over the National Assembly's decision to reject the proposed allocation meant to settle debts owed to media houses.

This was presented as a matter of public finance. In one sense, it is. Parliament is entitled to interrogate expenditure and to refuse what it considers unjustified. But that account is too neat, and far too convenient. The decision has a wider meaning, and the country should be honest enough to say so.