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August 21, 2010
To the ballot boxes we go today after a boring and inane campaign. I've gone for green rather than red or blue. My priority is a Green Senate to ensure a check on executive power, then Labor in the House of Representatives because the national broadband network represents the future. I voted Liberal over Labor in the Senate to block the mandatory internet filter, as this is the religious right's form of censorship.
Though negativity ruled the campaign, the polls say that The Greens are riding a wave to the Senate, whilst the Liberals will struggle to gain the 17 seats they need to bring back the Howard years, and return us to the glory days of peace, security and prosperity through savage budget cuts.
In the National Times Lenore Taylor says that this election campaign:
has been a showdown between major parties, neither of which had many broad policy offerings, neither of which had a cohesive vision and a full suite of policies, and both of which have been running an essentially negative message. It has been a fascinating, rollicking, roller-coaster ride of photo opportunities, without most of the substantive bits that are supposed to come in between.
A fascinating, rollicking, roller-coaster ride of photo opportunities? Spare me the media spin. Maybe the analysis of the electoral strategy and branding would be fascinating, but we need to go deeper than photo opportunities to the marketing strategy itself.
What was fascinating during the campaign was the political humour: not the political satire of the Chaser's Yes We Canberra, but the edgy humour of Gruen Nation that critically examined the branding strategies of four political parties.
Of course, this focus on branding and marketing says nothing about what is happening amongst citizens: how they feel about Australian democracy; the capacity of the political parties to deliver reform and good government; and whether they are happy with politics -as-usual.
Update
I'm watching the ABC's coverage of the election results at home whilst keeping an eye on Twitter for inside information. There's little coming.
As the results roll in, the shift away from the ALP is evident in Queensland and NSW, and it increasingly looks as if the ALP was unable to contain or sandbag its marginal seats. The Rann strategy, which was successful in SA, has not worked. There is evidence of a geographical split: Tasmania, SA and Victoria are now solid red states whilst Queensland and WA are the blue states.
It is also increasingly evident that neither the ALP or the Coalition will gain a majority tonight, that the Greens have finally arrived as a third force, and Senator Fielding is now in the dustbin of history.
The result, with an emergence of the Independents and a Green Senate, suggests a deep disenchantment with both the major political parties. I doubt that they will see it this way. The ALP will talk about its mistakes whilst the ALP diehards will snark about The Greens. The Coalition will celebrate a historic victory.
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more attacks on The Greens from the Canberra Press Gallery --this time from Glenn Milne, a Liberal Party hack. Writing at The ABC's The Drum, he refers to:
The Grunge Greens are Stalinists apparently.