Election squee

[lucymonster]

Yesterday was Australia’s general election. They’re still finishing the count, but it’s clear that the right wing has gotten absolutely fucking hosed. The Liberals have been routed from their well-off inner city heartland. (US friends, our Liberal Party = conservatives, our Democrats are called Labor spelt the American way, basically our two major parties might as well have been named specifically to fuck with us as we try to blog about our politics on US-based platforms). Clive Palmer (deranged right-wing populist, campaigns on the slogan ‘Make Australia Great’ because he knows we’d all laugh him out of the room if he added the ‘Again’) wasted a massive $100 million on campaign advertising that bought him next to no gains. Pauline Hanson (deranged anti-Muslim racist, once showed up to parliament in a burqa as a shock stunt) looks to have lost her seat. A wave of independents running on climate action platforms have risen to the top. Queensland (Australian Texas) has swung to the Greens in at least one seat and possibly more.

We’ve lived through almost a decade of conservative dickheads mauling our communities for the sake of ~the economy~ and I’m SO fucking proud of us for finally turning it around. Welcome Albo, fuck off Scomo, god I’m so happy and hopeful about this new government.

Comments

[osprey_archer]

I'm so happy for you! Congratulations to Australia!

[lucymonster]

Thank you! :D

[walgesang]

Yay!

[lucymonster]

YEP. :D

[snickfic]

Oh my gosh, congratulations!! I'm so happy for you.

Was climate the turning point for a lot of people, do you think?

[lucymonster]

Thank you! Climate’s been a huge part of it, yeah. The back-to-back natural disasters we’ve been suffering since the last election have won over a lot of skeptics and galvanised previously quiet believers to get loud. We’ve also had a big #metoo reckoning in parliament that our now-ex-PM handled with all the sensitivity you’d expect of a rich conservative boomer male. Add covid to the mix - the federal government left states to handle it themselves, then publicly ridiculed those who didn’t handle it exactly how Scomo thought they should - and he basically had no friends left.

[snickfic]

Aw man, a perfect storm of terrible. I'm so glad things are starting to look up for you guys. <3