When I read the media I like to pay attention to details. People might think I am making too much of small details. My case is that these small details, which the journalist may be producing unconsciously, provide insight into the narratives and attitudes which are circulating in senior media and political circles. Given that the media, by and large, acts as the PR arm of corporate-financial-government structures we get an insight into ‘elite’ thinking. Here are two examples:
The €90bn loan for Ukraine is the one that has been long talked about, but which only became possible after Viktor Orbán, the pro-Russian Hungarian PM who was vetoing it, was kicked out of office last month [1]
Notice the “kicked out”. In fact, Orban was voted out in an election. He accepted the electoral loss and promised to continue promoting his programme from opposition. All a model of democracy. But the journalist can’t say “lost the election”. We have this rude “kicked out”. This shows, I would suggest, how political discourse in Europe, is dominated not by the principles of ‘democracy’, but by the bureaucratic edicts and exigencies of von der Leyen et al..By a crude and uncivilised discourse.
Second example;
Armenia’s 2018 velvet revolution, which emphasised democracy and the rule of law, also set the former Soviet republic on a different path to Russia, which slid deeper into authoritarianism. [2]
Maybe I am reading too much into it. But, maybe not. Notice how Russia is spoken about in the past tense. They have already disconnected from Russia. Russia has been “kicked out” of their minds. The author is the Guardian’s senior Brussels reporter. I think she is channeling ‘elite’ views in Europe.
Notes
- https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/may/04/local-election-uk-keir-starmer-ukraine-eu-loan-deal-latest-news-updates?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with%3Ablock-69f83de58f08c9430f90172f#block-69f83de58f08c9430f90172f
- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/04/eu-closer-ties-armenia-counter-russian-interference