Framing Public Debate: The CSG Bill

Abstract

Summary: How was the CSG bill, a major priority on the Rocard government's political agenda, constructed as a political entity? Drawing upon empirical data from the prime minister's information and publicity service, it is possible to analyse the process of its composition and recomposition. Alongside overwhelming events such as the Gulf crisis and, to a lesser extent, the 'high school and suburban crisis', the controversial CSG relied essentially for its construction on the government's definition of the political situation. The frames of interpretation applied to the CSG by the media were aimed at reducing the controversy in terms of political tactics and parliamentary games, while the subject itself presented specific difficulties of interpretation.