And the political mud flies

Aren’t these things regulated?

This week, political party advertising is out in force on television. In a Reform Party advertisement, a bewigged tax collector extracts tribute from a peasant family in the form of cabbage, the peasant child’s toy, and finally the peasant’s own pants. But on Friday, the government official takes nothing, even dances happily with the family. The ad is meant to convey Reform’s promise that it will reduce personal income taxes by one fifth, and we think it’s quite cleverly done. See it here (click second TV screen): http://www.reform.ee/ee/valimised/reklaamid/telereklaam

But the Centre Party was unable to leave it unpunished. Their counter advertisement depicts a man whose wheels and tires have been stolen unable to reach the police and a severely beaten child unable to get health care—both police and doctors would presumably take Friday off. We’d like to provide a link to this one, too, but we’re unable to find it on the web. But perhaps that’s by design. What political party would want a record kept of insulting the intelligence of its own voters? Sorry, silly question.