|
July 17, 2010
As expected Julia Gillard has called the "game on" election-- for 21 August. For those interested here is a list of policy issues that are in play. Both major parties are light on policy say The Greens. I agree. Both are in retreat because of panic about reform.
Will Abbott make it to the centre of the electorate? Will Labor be able to hang on to its slender lead? Queensland is important as it contains a fifth of the country’s seats, it is volatile and has more than its share of marginal electorates.
George Megalogenis has an interesting analysis of the key regions on his blog:
Queensland matters above all in 2010 because this is where Labor has the most seats in danger: 10, from Brisbane, in the city centre, to the Cairns-based seat of Leichhardt. NSW is the next most interesting state, with another eight Labor marginals, plus two wild-cards.The breakdown of these 20 seats tells the basic story of the campaign.
He says that eight are in the sandbelt, down the east coast of Queensland and NSW; and eight are in the mortgage belts of Brisbane and Sydney. has an interesting analysis of the key regions on his blog:
Queensland matters above all in 2010 because this is where Labor has the most seats in danger: 10, from Brisbane, in the city centre, to the Cairns-based seat of Leichhardt. NSW is the next most interesting state, with another eight Labor marginals, plus two wild-cards.The breakdown of these 20 seats tells the basic story of the campaign.
He says that eight are in the sandbelt, down the east coast of Queensland and NSW; and eight are in the mortgage belts of Brisbane and Sydney.
Megalogenis adds that:
The sandbelt is where Labor has the least protection from dual-income families because they rub up against the Coalition’s grey voter, aged 50-plus.The older the seat, the more it looks like Abbott territory. The younger the seat, the more it lines up for Gillard.
He says that Labor had a larger following of women than men even before Gillard toppled Rudd. This election will test whether Labor, the party of the blue collar male, can turn gender on its head by relying on mum, not dad, for their majority.
|
Is the current ALP the party of the blue collar male? Historically maybe, but not now. It is also the party of middle class professionals