There was a painful period in the run-up to the Irish referendum on same-sex marriage a decade ago where RTE, the state broadcaster, took its obligation to allow equal time on elections a little too literally. A particular highlight was a business program on the radio in which the presenter talked to a hospitality industry representative about the impact of more weddings on the industry; due to RTE’s rules they also had to get on some lunatic to rant for five minutes about how the gays were going to destroy civilisation.
(By the time the referendum actually happened, there was all-party support, the church was sitting it out, and there was enough society consensus that RTE really only had a panel of about ten public figures to take the anti side, and most of them were fairly unhinged.)
We have this in France before the presidential elections. There are usually 20 or so candidates, the top 5 get 90% of the voices. But everyone is entitled to the same media time.
You then have a debate with the top 5 at 21 (after the news), and then one or two for the rest between 22:30 and midnight.
I find the second one more interesting because you have the unusual ones who push their crazy ideas. The candidates of the premium debate are well known and their ideas as well.
Ah, yeah, we have that as well, for party leaders. Any party with at least one TD gets to participate in the first one, so half the parties in it had exactly one TD. It was such a mess that I’m not sure anyone really bothered watching the second one (which just had the real parties); the French sequencing sounds better.
(By the time the referendum actually happened, there was all-party support, the church was sitting it out, and there was enough society consensus that RTE really only had a panel of about ten public figures to take the anti side, and most of them were fairly unhinged.)