In an unusual move, three leading mainland media outlets have published a series of commentaries calling for political reform amid the unfolding scandal surrounding Bo Xilai’s downfall.

The People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece, the official Xinhua news agency – run directly by the State Council – and the China Youth Daily, run by the Communist Youth League, a training base for China’s future leaders, all joined the chorus for reform.

Analysts say the move might indicate that the top leaders have reached some consensus on the issue, a controversial topic since the military crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in 1989.

“It is surely a concerted action ordered by the top leadership, which has also revealed that they, or a majority of them have reached some consensus on the need for political reform following Bo Xilai’s case,” said Professor Hu Xingdou , a political commentator at Beijing…