Eurovision newsclip

Recorded for Euradio Nantes. Looking at the dreaded phenomenon of political voting at the Eurovision Song Contest. Featuring contributions from former UK MP Richard Younger-Ross, and UK Eurovision contestant Andy Abraham. February 2012. ENGLISH TRANSCRIPT: Voiceover: The British call it 'political voting', and now even the politicians themselves are confronting the problem. Richard Younger-Ross is a former Liberal Democrat MP in the UK. In 2007, following yet another failure for his country at the Eurovision Song Contest, he tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons demanding a change in the voting system. He explains why the phenomenon is not as harmless as it might appear: RY-R: The reason why I raised it as a parliamentarian is that there's four countries who finance the competition, including the UK. British citizens help to finance it through the licence fee, which is a form of taxation. The moment it becomes a question of taxation, I think it's only right to have a fair and reasonable voting system. Clearly, 'bloc voting' is grossly distorting that, and it's no longer a matter of what is the better record. V/O: Andy Abraham represented the UK in 2008. He finished 25th...out of 25. He says he was a victim – at least in part – of political voting: AA: Political voting definitely played a part in it, I would say. If the reaction of the people in the stadium had been a factor, the result would have been very different – certainly among the top ten at least. It loses its credibility as a fair voting competition when the presenter is able to second-guess where the points are going to be going. V/O: Since the 2008 competition, the system has undergone several changes. Phone-voting now accounts for only half the points allotted, and the other half is now decided by a jury of experts. But that hasn't put an end to some eye-catching results. Last year for example, Norway ranked Iceland in third place, Sweden second, and Finland first. Andy Abraham suggests a few ways in which the system might be improved: AA: Maybe it can just be down to the audience that's within the stadium – after all, they're the real Eurovision fans. Or maybe you could ban countries from voting for their neighbours. Let's say the Scandinavian countries are only allowed to vote for the Balkan countries, and the West is only allowed to vote for the Scandinavian countries. V/O: The Eurovision Song Contest was created in 1955 to re-establish harmonious relation between the countries of Europe after the divisions of the Second World War. But today that unifying goal is as far away as ever.