The horrible Australian federal election

Oh, I should point out that the LNP leader is Tony Abbott, his deputy is Julie Bishop, and the shadow treasurer is a big fat man called Joe Hockey. The ALP leader and PM is Kevin Rudd, and his deputy is Anthony Albanese.

A Mediaeval Madrigal
By Joan Lockwood

The Abbott and his bishop, they are fighting for the crown
Against Sir Kev and Albo from the other side of town.

Sir Kev has got his people’s back, he wants to help them grow.
We’ve got to get them from him, said the Abbott, feeling low.

I’ll get you there, said Rupert Bear, I own the best town cryers.
The miners too will back us up, I know the prime vote buyers.

We’ll celebrate as soon as we’ve the treasure and the crown
We’ll feast upon our victory, inviting all the town.

We’ll sit together at the top, and eat our fill said Joe,
Perhaps some crumbs will trickle to the peasants down below.

The Abbott hides his iron fist inside a velvet glove
Aggression hidden by a mask of empathy and love.

How can a holy man of God be full of such aggression?
It’s simply that his dirty deeds are wiped by each confession

The Abbott thinks no matter what, it’s covered by his God
This God of Right and privilege, has given him the nod.

Sir Kevin tries to warn of where the Abbott’s reign would lead
But Rupert Bear is always there to hide each dirty deed.

So how to get the message out while Rupert pulls the string
Manipulating all the news, creator of the king?

Sir Kev and Albo know the folk should not forget the past,
How the Abbott’s former Leader John had simply put them last.

But Rupert Bear is always there to influence their views
So will the people see right through manipulated news?

The contest’s starting very soon, a, day in early Spring.
The loudest voice or wisest choice? Which one will be our King?

A tour de force Joan. Somehow the words have more power when written in this way they are certainly more memorable. This couplet in particular resonates with me-

How can a holy man of God be full of such aggression?
It’s simply that his dirty deeds are wiped by each confession

But I must 'confess' I am thinking of a former British PM. (or 2)

I am voting tomorrow, I hadn't changed my address since I moved and was worried I would miss my vote. I phoned the Australian Electoral Commision and I am able to cast an away vote and do it before voting day.

Great stuff joan
It will be a bad day if that Abbot gets in. Nasty piece of work.

Abbot has got in. BBC making no bones about the fact he has had "the strident support" of the Murdoch media. Labour did not deserve to win after all that backstabbing of course.

Commiserations to Joan but Jess is right - Labour shot themselves in the foot with too much infighting.

My friend Una in Queensland says

".............an agreement has been reached by the two major parties to shut the Greens out as far as possible because in fact we are the ONLY real opposition.
Neither major party has said a word about Civil Liberties .... but one wonders
More Public Servants will of course lose their jobs ..... always a vote winner!"

My friend in Australia says that the result is the best one, for now anyway.

The one thing that makes me relieved is the Liberals (conservatives) won't hold the balance of power in the senate.

Tony Abbott is a buffoon and this link shows what an idiot he is. He didn't want to answer a question from a reporter so this is how he reacted. Yikes what a nutter!!!!

New Zealand business journalists seem to be suggesting that this is a good result for exporting countries. I guess it depends on your definition of good.

Tweet from David Cameron:

"I've just phoned and congratulated the new Australian PM @TonyAbbottMHR - it'll be great working with another centre right leader."

Well i hope they are very happy together

Yes, I'm very sad, but with the entire major local media (all owned by Murdoch) pushing the conservatives and bad mouthing Labour shamelessly, it was always going to happen. I worked on my local Labour MP's campaign, Shayne Neumann of the electorate of Blair, and he got a 1.7% swing towards him, according to last night's figures.

Abbot will go down in history Joan as the person who provoked Gillard into the best anti-sexism rant by a prime minister, ever.
Here it is in all its glory for anyone who missed it
media.theage.com.au/news/national-times/julia-gillards-misogyny--speech-in-full-3701787.html

I love that speech Jess and watched it again. The man who was sitting behind Julia Gillard is Anthony Albanese and I hope he will be the next Labor leader. I think they will make a huge mistake if they elect Bill Shorten.

Also I am hoping Malcolm Turnbull takes over the Liberal party when Tony Abbott messes and has to resign. I can dream.

Politics are never boring.

Oh yes, I loved it too. it was clearly from the heart.

Abbott will have to pull his horns in anyway - he won't have the Senate unless he can get most of the independents on his side.

I agree that politics are never boring - trouble is, too many people do find the whole political scene boring: if only they would give it some thought they would be fascinated.

I think many people don't connect politics with their lives - don't see the links.

Yes, I agree, JessM, but I think it's a pity that they don't. Politicians control so much of our lives that it's in our own interest to know what's going on.
Personally, I find politics endless fascinating, both here and all round the world.
This recent Australian election has been marvellously entertaining, and after clicking on the above links kindly supplied by other gransnetters, I am even more fascinated. How long can Tony Abbot last, I wonder?

I can't say I know a lot about Australian politics but the little I've seen of Abbot doesn't endear him to me. He seems a most unpleasant man.

With Murdoch having such power over the media, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion anyway.

Didn't Murdoch have the same power over the media when Julia Gillard's party won the general election? Something suggests to me that there may be more to it than Murdoch's wily ways – such as that the majority of voters were pissed off with Labor for some, or several, reasons.

Well Murdoch doesn't necessarily back a particular party - he seems to favour certain individuals if their world view fits in with his. I'm fairly sure he backed (New) Labour in this country at one stage. His support must have some effect, otherwise why did Labour and Conservative parties go out of their way to court him?

Suspect Murdoch likes the power.

Suspect Murdoch likes the power.

No, this rime he utterly and shamelessly backed the Right (LNP) while badmouthing the Left (ALP). The morning after the elections were called, his banner headlines taking up the whole front page were: KICK THIS MOB OUT. It continued in the same vein for the duration.

'Get up' made this this TV advert to try to counteract it, and here's the advert, and what happened:

www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/04/getup-anti-tv-murdoch-advert

However. the losses were nowhere nearly as bad as predicted. I worked on the campaign for my local Labour MP, and he got in with a 1.4% increased margin, much against the nationwide trend.