The Labor Party has lost the unlosable election, and with it, the chance to change Australia’s course towards something approaching social democracy.
The result defies every poll, pundit and focus group. The Coalition’s policy offering was astonishing in its vacuousness and cruelty, led by a man who engineered his predecessor’s downfall, after six years in government that were defined by policy paralysis and internal division.
They promised climate inaction and tax cuts for the wealthy — both policies that Australians overwhelmingly oppose. Their sales team was skeletal, as Liberal Party front-benchers abandoned ship to avoid an expected electoral wipeout and the Nationals navigated scandal. They defined themselves in opposition to change, pledging to maintain the same ecologically destructive, unfair and racist status quo.
And they won.
You can read the rest of this article at the New Economy Journal website.
Jacob Debets 