Politicians allowed Murdoch to be kingmaker to their detriment

“UNIVERSITY fined for not flying EU flag,” the headline went in some British newspapers last week, forcing the European Commission to set the record straight about this latest eurosceptic myth.

But the myth is still more popular on Google web searches than the clarification — and millions of Britons believe it — together with stories about scrapping the Queen’s head on postage stamps; that farmers must give their pigs toys; Bingo players must stop calling “Two fat ladies”, and, the clincher of them all, the EU is going to change the name of the English channel to “Anglo-French pond”.

One thing you notice when working in Brussels as a correspondent is that much of the media has a political bias dictated by its owners. You hear it in the questions asked by journalists from the various countries. A healthy scepticism is a prerequisite for a reporter, but the scepticism should not be limited to one side or the other.

The British media stands out because it is blatant and a good communicator with widespread influence. The thrust is one of aggressive free-market capitalism whose power continues to increase in the EU, with centre-right parties in power or coalitions in 23 of the 27 member states.

This is despite its weakness being revealed in the financial crisis and that, for the creators of the crisis, little appears to have changed. The efforts to exercise more control over the financial institutions appears to be just further punishing ordinary taxpayers.

And so we come to another crisis — that of Murdoch and his News International empire.

It’s the Lehman moment, not just for the media, but for politicians and the vestiges of democracy, not just in Britain but in the EU because of Britain’s influence.

It is amazing that despite all the evidence of Murdoch’s undue influence on British political decisions, in the end it took the heart-tugging story of a dead girl’s phone messages being hacked to bring it all out into the open.

The timing is also amazing — just as the British government was about to hand control of Britain’s biggest, privately-owned news corporation, British Sky Broadcasting to the man who already controls more than a third of newspaper circulation.

There is undisputed evidence of how the Murdoch empire exercised its power. But what’s more shocking is that British politicians put themselves under his control. He proved himself a kingmaker by having his media support the Labour Party’s campaign when Tony Blair came to power, not just by urging “vote for Tony”, but through a raft of stories that influenced public opinion.

Having understood that power, Labour worked to keep it on side, implementing Murdoch’s wishes, even down to changing income tax laws to continue to allow News Corp pay minimal taxes.

Murdoch returned to his support of the Tories in the last election and perhaps, as a measure of appreciation, David Cameron turned against Ofcom, the regulator that advised against giving Murdoch total control over BSkyB. The EU is one of Murdoch’s hate figures, fearing its interference in regulation, though strangely the European Commission approved the takeover in December.

Firing minions, closing newspapers or bringing in media control laws will be a little like shutting Lehman. Politicians must reform themselves, represent the public interest and stop being blackmailed by vested interests. They need to empower a responsible media to protect them in doing their duty by their voters.

The electorate must assume its responsibility too to help protect an independent media and politicians, otherwise the crisis will simply give News Corp an opportunity for more power and a US-style Fox News becomes the future.