Third rail (politics)
id:
third-rail-politics-207-16452506
title:
Third rail (politics)
text:
The third rail of a nation's politics is a metaphor for any issue so controversial that it is "charged" and "untouchable" to the extent that any politician or public official who dares to broach the subject will invariably suffer politically. The metaphor comes from the high-voltage third rail in some electric railway systems. Touching a third rail can result in electrocution, so usage of the metaphor in political situations relates to the risk of "political suicide" that a person would face by
brand slug:
wiki
category slug:
encyclopedia
description:
Metaphor for "untouchable" issues
original url:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_rail_(politics)
date created:
2005-06-06T13:16:53Z
date modified:
2024-09-11T04:12:10Z
main entity:
{"identifier":"Q6139875","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6139875"}
image:
{"content_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/WMATA_third_rail_at_West_Falls_Church.jpg","width":2304,"height":1728}
fields total:
13
integrity:
16