Once again, there is absolutely no friction to Australia’s political commentary. The self-same people who are calling for ‘Serious Debate’ are those who confuse the aesthetics of insight with actual substance. You know the sort: they frown when they talk, they try to see ‘both sides’, and they consistently claim that everything that’s wrong with Australian politics can be reduced to some ‘-ism’ or, worse, Rupert Murdoch.
The Aston by-election was a terrible outcome for the Coalition. It’s looking like a 7% 2PP swing against the Coalition, which followed a 7% 2PP swing against the Coalition a bit less than a year ago at the Federal Election. At the 2019 Federal Election, the Coalition won the seat with 60% of the 2PP, going some way to explain why such a massive swing against the Coalition was possible.
If you look at these numbers and nothing else, you could start to construct an unfalsifiable narrative about Australian politics. Voters are rejecting the negativity of the Coalition, you see. The Coalition is shifting further to the Right, you see, but voters want a progressive government instead, you see. And, you see, this is about Climate, you see, Change and, you see, something about Super, you see, Annuation. You see, this is about the pandemic response, you see. You see, you see. And Rupert Murdoch.
Simple.