This makes me remember that Labour squit last election who had his election pledges carved in a massive marble monolith (including "tuff on immigration", of course).

I think it's a symptom of the media seeing any acknowledgement of nuance as a sign of weakness, especially at heated times like this- They're usually used in tactical retreats, after all ("We tried our level best to do X, however there were many conflicting factors at play that..").

It's definitely authoritarian in bent, but I think it's been the norm for a while- People have always, to my understanding, responded best to narratives. Narratives where there are clear-cut problems, baddies, goodies and solutions are the ones that appeal the most to the most people.

The current (global) political climate and representative democracy in general only exaggerates this trend- You have to prove that not only are your arguments sound, but that you personally are Strong Of Character and Bold of Conviction and all that, or, as you mentioned, be even more at risk of the media ripping you to shreds for being "wishy washy" and "inconsistent".

That's my 2p, anyway.