ABSTRACT
It is hard to distinguish between PR and forms of modern politics. The roles of spin doctor, lobbyist and politician are merging, making the distinctions of less presentationally conscious times harder to grasp. The contemporary cultural dominance of marketing and PR with the primary emphasis on self-interested display and exchange is the underlying reason for the conflation. There is, however, a paradox in this overemphasis by politics on the presentational. While increased emphasis on PR is a response to the need to maximise electoral support in a mass mediasaturated, democratic system, PR as spin doctoring and as lobbying reduces the accountability of elected politicians to electorates. PR in politics tends to take power away from politicians and transfer it to experts. The task of reforming PR in politics is to reverse that transfer.
