Extremism is all the rage. But there’s a moment that will truly test Shoebridge and Hanson
You don’t need to peer too far back into the past to be reminded how public sentiment can rearrange itself once an election is called.
First reported 1 hour ago · latest update 1 hour ago
His stridency looks for the moment to suit the temper of the times but, as with Hanson, everything he says should be viewed through the prism of a leader who aspires to run the country and represent the goals and best interests of the greatest number of Australians, (even though both of them sit in the Senate and not the lower house).
Things have gone OK for Hanson so far, although the Victorian and New South Wales elections will put in view more of her party’s outre positions. That it will work as well for Shoebridge and the Greens is not as clear. The temptation to believe that it can is understandable. With the One Nation insurgency mostly cannibalising the Liberal and National vote on the right, it’s assumed that there must be an unmet appetite for an insurgency on the left, which can knock over the ALP.
That’s a big mountain to climb. Take the seat of Isaacs in Melbourne’s south-east, which stretches from Moorabbin and some bayside suburbs south to Chelsea and east to working class Dandenong and its outer suburban hinterland, and has been held by Labor for the past 30 years. If the Greens are to replace Labor, they’ll need to go way beyond the inner city and win seats like Isaacs. Last year, Labor’s Mark Dreyfus got a primary vote of 49 per cent while his Green opponent took 14 per cent. It’s incredibly hard to see Isaacs being in play for the Greens any time soon.
What’s Shoebridge’s timeframe for the Greens becoming the party of government on the left? How many Coalition and/or One Nation governments would have to be elected while the Greens’ demolition job on the Labor Party is executed? The political environment is incredibly febrile and Shoebridge figures he might as well try to get a piece of the action. To take government, 76 seats are needed for a majority. The Greens only need to win 75 more.
Shaun Carney is a regular columnist, an author and former associate editor of The Age.
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Extremism is all the rage. But there’s a moment that will truly test Shoebridge and Hanson
You don’t need to peer too far back into the past to be reminded how public sentiment can rearrange itself once an election is called.
1 hour ago · Shaun CarneyExtremism is all the rage. But there’s a moment that will truly test Shoebridge and Hanson
You don’t need to peer too far back into the past to be reminded how public sentiment can rearrange itself once an election is called.
1 hour ago · Shaun Carney