There was a time mainstream politicians could reference MAGA to denote they too were crimson-faced populists, and not aloof technocrats. There was a time even leftists reckoned Trump had a bit going for him; he might kick the global elite, he might tone down US hegemony – they were right about the latter, as an emboldened Vladimir Putin suggests. But all that was before Trump refused the peaceful handover of power that’s the linchpin of liberal democracy.
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My point is: there is no throwaway MAGA phrase that can be legitimately construed as a throwaway; there is no casual salute to Trump, no Freudian slip defence. Nothing Trump can be dismissed as a cutesy meme any more. And matters of integrity aside, why associate the Coalition with someone ultimately booted out of the presidency?
I’m assuming Guy understands Trump lost the last election?
Guy’s Geelong speech also described the Andrews government as “the worst government since the war”. I’m not sure what “war” he’s referring to. World War II? Being of Ukrainian heritage, perhaps the idea of war, full stop, is preying on Guy’s mind.
Regardless, is he suggesting the Andrews government is worse than the third-term Cain-Kirner government, which financially crippled the state and branded Labor “the guilty party”, a legacy that haunts them still?
Truth is, the government’s apparent stubborn popularity has made a revolving door of the opposition leadership. From Guy and, after a devastating 2018 election defeat that nearly toppled the Tory citadel of Brighton, to Michael O’Brien and then to Guy again. At last count in January the government retained a strong electoral lead even as Omicron wreaked havoc on the state’s hospitals.
Polls are harder to trust in this era of political disruption, though. After the past crushing two years, there’s an undeniable residue of anger towards the Andrews government. It’s not inconceivable to me that some Victorians might feel ashamed of their anger because Labor so firmly captured the moral high ground with its public health focus. In 2016, many frustrated people did not tell pollsters they were backing a wildcard Trump.
So maybe the three Liberal MPs who cheerfully engaged with the anti-lockdown and anti-mandate protesters camped out at Spring Street last November – even as some paraded life-sized gallows and an effigy of Daniel Andrews – perceived that flirting with cranks and the odd Hitler fetishist might help them cut through to less boisterous, but equally resentful, mainstream voters. Perhaps the same logic was at work in June when Coalition frontbencher Louise Staley channelled conspiracy theories about Andrews’ back injury.
Or on the weekend, when Scott Morrison said he “understands” the concerns of anti-vaccination mandate protesters. To which I say, fine, but if we’re running with individualism, let’s go the distance. Given the unvaccinated occupy a disproportionate number of intensive care beds, it’s only fair we jack up their Medicare levy to compensate for the strain on the public purse. A true neoliberal would embrace such a user-pays philosophy, no?
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During the November protests in Melbourne, Andrews said the Liberals were in a play to win the preferences of right-wing minor parties. At the very least this pandering to the fringe testifies to political desperation in both Melbourne and Canberra. It is an attempt to shore up a fracturing conservative base.
Some in the party seem eager for an image makeover; pro-Trump MP Bernie Finn’s position in the upper house is reportedly under threat.
The Coalition’s policies, such as they are, seem unremarkable, in a good way. They pledge to no new taxes (shock horror), halving elective surgery waiting lists, fixing Victoria’s healthcare and mental health “crisis”, boosting employment, supporting businesses in their COVID recovery, keeping schools open, having no more lockdowns.
The Coalition’s current slogan is Recover. Rebuild – a distinct echo of the Government’s “big build” messaging on infrastructure.
But mimicking respectability is different from earning it.
Julie Szego is a regular columnist.