So who's stirring up apathy?

By David Williams BBC Wales Political Editor

Zimbabweans queued for hours to vote - but would people in Wales?

How do you report apathy without being accused of stirring it up?

That's the dilemma facing journalists covering the assembly election campaign.

Believing it to be true, I have on more than one occasion in these columns and on television and radio suggested that this election campaign has yet to ignite the imagination of a nation.

Nothing much has changed since I last suggested this, except that senior officials in one of the main political parties have become increasingly concerned about the consequences of such reports.

Nonsense

It seems that if you repeat the suggestion that people are apathetic about this election it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. What nonsense.

People are apathetic. That may change in the next two weeks, but saying that they're apathetic now is hardly likely to make them more so.

If you think about it, the truly apathetic are unlikely to notice that someone in the media is suggesting that they are less than fully engaged with the democratic process.

Even those who understand the importance of voting can sometimes surprise you

But politicians shouldn't despair and, as Carwyn Jones - the man charged with co-ordinating Labour's election campaign - suggested in a TV debate this week, they certainly shouldn't apologise for trying to solicit our votes.

Pounding pavements

He went further; saying that those who consciously decided not to vote forfeited their right to criticise the politicians and their policies.

He's right and he and the others now pounding the pavements in search of our support must have been heartened by the launch, last week, of a campaign to encourage us to turn out on 1 May.

The Electoral Commission, the independent body which regulates elections and promotes voter awareness in the UK, has mounted its own campaign to counter apathy and stimulate turnout.

How many electors know they will have two votes on 1 May?

Under the theme 'If you care: show it", the campaign highlights key issues which voters in Wales have the power to influence, such as healthcare, education and the environment.

Apparently, it's the lack of awareness of the assembly, rather than opposition towards the principle of devolution, that is likely to affect turnout.

Banging on

And although the media in Wales has been banging on about the assembly for the last four years there's still work to be done in explaining the proportional representation element of the voting system itself.

I say this because even those who understand the importance of voting can sometimes surprise you.

A taxi driver - always a useful guide in these matters - told me last week that he was fully aware of the election campaign and, like a good democrat, would be turning out to put his cross down.

And what about his second cross? "Ah, the wife hasn't decided which way she's voting yet," came the reply. Well, it beats apathy.

Oh dear, I've just said it again!