This is simply wrong.

I don't know enough about the German political scene, but the quotes that are posted here from Der Spiegel hardly seem like they're pushing the progressive envelope.

As for the UK, Italy and France, I'm not sure how you can say that I'm factually wrong. Berlusconi would be no one if he didn't own most of Italy's media, and Sarko's close friendship with French media leaders, complete with exotic upmarket holiday perks, is well known - as are Murdoch's deals with Blair.

It's only on blogs like ET that you'll find progressive talking points. Otherwise in the UK we have exactly one serious magazine with a progressive viewpoint, with a minimal readership, and two papers that are sort of centre left, sometimes.

The FT occasionally publishes a heretical talking pointm but the usual narrative from the 'serious' press is, and has always been, relentlessly right leaning. You only have to look at Justin Webb's BBC coverage of the US election to see that his idea of fair reporting is constant criticism of Obama.

Aa for Germany - I suspect a poll of publishers and editors, who define narratives, would show that their sympathies are far more right leaning than those of journalists who usually have to write what they're told to.

Martin:

Can you name one leftish idea, take Brtain, which has nothing to do with profits, which didn't make it at least to some degree into politics?

Historically or recently? Because currently all we have left are vestiges and shreds of the progressive changes of the post-war consensus - universal high quality free education is being replaced with corporate control of curricula, health care is heading in the same direction, infrastructure is mostly mismanaged by the private sector at vast public expense, tax rates place the burden of taxation on the poorest earners, tax avoidance by the rich is endemic, and the press collude to cover up the true state of things with scare stories about racism and missing blonde girls.

Is this what a progressive utopia looks like?