By petermcc
Aussie politics has been pretty interesting of late, though I imagine some folk aren’t enjoying it as much as I am. That comes from not appreciating the subtlety of backroom deals and the forlorn hope that there will be a sudden outbreak of common sense where the good of the country coming first.
How long can you hold your breath?
As negative as that sounds, I believe things are on the improve but more about that later.
Overriding our own trials and tribulations is the spectre of the Donald Trump experiment which has entered high farce now that smart decisions are required instead of just “bitching about the Gov’mint”. It’s turned out that Donald is so gripped by Obamaphobia he can’t think straight and running the government was way more complex than he realised. (Who knew? Certainly not the self described King of Debt).
This throws a dark shadow across Aussie politics because when Donald gets his war with China, and he is going to need it for the Polls, our Economy goes straight down the toilet. With Donald’s America First, he won’t be interested in paying for the damage and sadly our current government is still so besotted with America that we will sign up for any lunacy that Trump imagines. It’s no shock that Hanson wants to be besties with Donald too, and in her case there appears to be no recognition of how damaging the Donald will be. At least the Libs have some trepidation.
But all is not lost.
One positive thing that Donald has achieved is exposing some Aussie pollies who celebrate brain-dead ideas. Populist rubbish that doesn’t stand up to clear thinking. Finding minorities and beating up on them for personal gain. It’s given these self-centred individuals an ill founded confidence that is rapidly fading as the full impact of their stupidity takes effect.
Like her last time around, Pauline is hitting the media at every opportunity and Pauline fatigue is building. This would not be a problem if she had any clear ideas about what she wants to achieve but she is a walking disaster area of contradictions. Just last weekend she proclaimed that Malcolm Turnbull was too bossy but Vladimir Putin was what Aussies want. Just think on that for a moment.
She also decided that playing the anti-vax card would be good for a few votes, seemingly unaware that quite a lot of older folk in her camp know what an iron lung looks like and remember how vaccinations made a huge difference to those requiring its use.
Consider yourself a “battler” and believed Pauline would stick up for your pay and conditions? Shame about that. Pauline votes Liberal 87% of the time which is not surprising when you realise she was too hard core for the Liberal party when it was a more centrist body of people. She is happy to take your vote but don’t expect support, or even respect. Apparently nearly half her support comes from notionally Labor voters. They must be starting to realise she might not be there for them.
Climate Change is another area where Pauline thought she could pull a few votes but that boat has sailed long ago. Apart from a few die hards, the country has mostly accepted the science and is requiring action. Even Malcolm is getting beaten up over the environment and he has a much more agreeable media presence.
It’s tempting to depict Pauline Hanson’s One Nation as similar to the ill-fated Palmer United party, but it’s way less sophisticated than that. Clive lost control quickly because those in his party wanted to make their own decisions but at least it was after the election that the wheels fell off. With PHON, Pauline tells us everyone has to do as she tells them because they represent her. Somehow representing the voters fell off the back of the truck long ago.
The upcoming WA State election is on this coming weekend and it is going to be one to watch. It sounds like support for PHON is already falling after the bizarre pro-Putin rubbish but WA is often hard to pick. They claim they like stability but who knows if that will turn their vote away from Pauline on polling day.
Whatever the outcome, when it comes to the Eastern States, hitching your wagon to a nutter like Trump, or an anti-Democracy chap like Vladimir, is really going to test voters loyalty. With Pauline not realising public appearances can be seriously damaging, I think we are looking at a repeat of Pauline’s last foray into Aussie politics where folk got sick of the thoughtlessness. It’s great fun to have a bitch, but when voters are looking for clever decisions, Pauline’s name is unlikely to be foremost in anyone’s mind.
This article was originally published on 1petermcc’s Blog.
