Upcoming Election a Flaccid Affair

By Rupert Truscott-Hughes on July 2, 2016 in News

It’s almost election time again. Are you as jaded as I am? This is probably the least exciting election I have ever been around for, despite the closeness of the polls. On the one hand, you’ve got our once likeable local member Malcolm Turnbull, the so-called saviour of our great nation, whose popularity is falling faster than Felix Baumgartner. On the other, you’ve got the completely unlikeable, most probably incompetent, certainly untrustworthy Bill Shorten, who appears to be gaining ground on the Member for Wentworth despite his total lack of charisma and questionable policy platform.

On July 2, we as a nation will rock up to the polling booths to put pen to paper and have our say. Democracy is great. When we last did this, back in September 2013, it was Tony Abbott who came out on top, toppling Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party, which held power for two topsy-turvy terms that history will likely remember more for its infighting and leadership changes than any particular political achievements. It’s rather ironic that the Liberal Party’s first term will most likely be remembered for the same thing.

That said, as you may have guessed from my past musings in The Beast, deep down I am a fan of Mr Turnbull. I know he wants to move on gay marriage, but is being held back by his party. I know he gives a stuff about the environment and would like to put appropriate measures in place to protect it from climate change. I know he is more economically capable and sensible than the man opposing him. And I know that he wants to keep negative gearing in place, which is a win for a wealthy bloke like me when it comes to tax time.

It would be a great tragedy, in my eyes, if Malcolm were not to win an election off his own bat and become prime minister by public vote rather than political treachery, but a loss is looking increasingly possible as the election approaches.

With all that said, we as Australians need not worry too much about who leads our country – it’s essentially a case of centre left versus centre right; there ain’t really too much difference these days. It’s actually quite a bore. Across the Pacific in the mighty US of A, on the other hand, the lead up to their election is an absorbing spectacle.

There are villains, heroes, underdogs, surprise packets and a shitload of money that keeps the whole wagon running. Since those bat-shit crazy yanks started getting behind a bloke called Trump, car crash politics has ensued. You just can’t look away.

My Facebook feed has been full of content from the United States and I for one am enthralled. Watching the field being whittled down to two has been captivating, and better still, the battle has only just begun. The final showdown between the Democrats’ Hillary Clinton and the Republicans’ Donald Trump looks like being the equivalent of six months worth of Game of Thrones finales thrown into one drawn out drama. Grab me some popcorn!

Back on the home front, one thing is for sure: when you’re tossing up between Malcolm and Bill, know that at least there’s no absolutely no chance of Trump leading this country. For that we can all be thankful.