Oh. Oh no, this is just sad. There's a monster that causes fear on the loose inhabiting a fascist politician. And an assassination attempt against said politician. Rather topical in today's world, wouldn't you say?

I thought that it was going to be a deconstruction on how right wing politics cause fear and loathing of the other. Instead, it was a South Park style "both sides are bad" argument. It sets up a radio shock jock and a terrorist group in OPPOSITION to the fascists, which is not how reality works. Both of these elements are overwhelmingly right wing in nature in reality.

After having invented the threat of a left wing terrorist group, the story then proceeds to condemn both sides as causing fear and loathing in the other side. The Doctor even says to the would be assassin that he was too afraid of the fascist politician to see that maybe she wasn't a monster after all:

DOCTOR: You were already scared of Harper, even before you heard the voice, and then you were willing to kill her, to kill lots of people to get at her. If someone like that told you they were hearing voices, what would you think?

WALTER: No! It was real.

DOCTOR: You don't really want to think about being wrong, do you. If she wasn’t a monster, then you weren't justified, and maybe you’re not all right. Maybe you do need help.

The story even ends with a member of this left wing terrorist group having collaborated with a high ranking member of the fascist party. Very "both sides are bad" indeed.

It's pretty cowardly, I have to say, especially for the Seventh Doctor and Ace, revolutionaries on tv. The Doctor even goes out of his way to say that he's not going to bring down the fascist government/candidate for no real reason at all despite saying he's taken down fascist governments before. It's the type of thing that could only have been made at the time with liberal centrism as the primary ideology. Today it would be looked at as feckless and naive. And it is.