Where to for the Libs?

[Paddo Colt 61]

Political Scientists have for some time noted the decline in traditional Class structures in Australia. Working Class in the old sense and anti Labor are now all but defunct replaced by a Knowledge Class V the rest. The accuracy of this observation is plain to see in the last election result where Lib voters were characterised by age (they are older) and by low education levels (well that figures). Predominantly, too, they had household incomes higher than the lowest 20%. 31% of voters who had completed the HSC and had voted Lib in 2019 switched their vote while of those who had no HSC qualification only 14% switched.

Like the Republicans, the Libs now represent the resentful uneducated throng hence Dutton's pitch to the suburbs and "small and micro" business. The educated knowledge class has abandoned it and the rejection by its heartland is surely the most remarkable phenomenon of the election - the prominence in the Party of the religious Right over the last 30 years (beginning with Family First) and the obscurantism that came with that, was just too much to keep copping for the educated.

How dumb are they? Dutton pledging to oppose Labor's climate initiative despite that being the main reason for the electoral debacle tells us that they're sticking with the dumbos. Good luck with that.

[Andrew Walker]

Perhaps a decade of opposition / shadow ministry ?

[Random Rooster]

So let me get this straight....The Teal independents ,which largely consisted of women successful in their own right who grew up in the electorates in which they ran in, won almost all of the seats from incumbent Liberal candidates, almost all of whom were male. The Teals had 2 policies- climate change action and legislating of a federal integrity commission. The Libs answer is to have Peter Dutton lead the party to a more traditional conservative right leaning. What am i missing here? They are taking the reasons they lost those seats and doubling down on their stance

[Paddo Colt 61]

[QUOTE=Random Rooster; ........The Libs answer is to have Peter Dutton lead the party to a more traditional conservative right leaning. What am i missing here? They are taking the reasons they lost those seats and doubling down on their stance.

Not quite with you Random. Are you saying that's a good thing?

Not just the Teals made inroads. Blue Ribbon electorates in all of the Capitals - established, wealthy and well educated - elected alternatives to what the Libs have become over the past 30 years, an ill educated, Science denying, female excluding, petty bourgeois, Fundamentalist cabal of free marketeers. The writing was on the wall with the coup against Turnbull, a rational moderate, who could make no headway against the Climate Deniers and their urger, Newscorp. As I say, the Knowledge Class on the anti Labor side has found its voice.

The "more traditional Conservative leaning" is not so traditional, it's a far Right leaning of fairly recent vintage. Howard fostered it along with its now deep ties to the Republican Party. Traditionally, the Party was a moderate Party which held that the politics of the Centre was the only option that the Sheeple found palatable. Doubling down on a loser seems odd to say the least especially if returning to Government is the aim.

There will be plenty of Newscorp, Us, the Fair Dinkums, versus the Latte Elites going forward but, failing a major recession, that train has left the station. Mercifully, we are not yet the USA and the election showed that.

[zac]

pretty sure random is saying that the libs with dutton as leader won't be winning back their rich heartland at the next election and he's probably right but three years is a long time in politics and if the country goes into recession it will be hard for labor to get re-elected

[Andrew Walker]

pretty sure random is saying that the libs with dutton as leader won't be winning back their rich heartland at the next election and he's probably right but three years is a long time in politics and if the country goes into recession it will be hard for labor to get re-elected

I’m tipping a decade of opposition / shadow ministry for the Liberal Party

[zac]

I’m tipping a decade of opposition / shadow ministry for the Liberal Party

not a crazy tip. they probably would have got a decade last time if they didn't dump rudd

[Mickie Lane]

The Libs will go up the path of keeping electricity prices low which means burning coal & they will fark themselves. Labor won’t have to do much to stay in power whilst ever the Libs want to burn coal & play down climate change. The older generation are dying off & the younger generation are not going to be fooled into thinking that climate change is not happening & that burning coal is alright.

[Paddo Colt 61]

[QUOTE=zac;n941240]pretty sure random is saying that the libs with dutton as leader won't be winning back their rich heartland at the next election and he's probably right,

Well that clears that up. Thanks Zac.

The petulant rejection of the rich (Teals) that Sky goes in for and which is part of the Libs' new direction is laughable but here's hoping they pursue it vigorously. They've more or less declared war on the Rich planning a Trumpist populism which will rally the outer suburbs around cost of living which doesn't affect the rich and hence demonises them but those suburban aspirationals respect the rich as having achieved what they aspire to, or at least, their modest version of it.

Traditionally, power in the Liberal Party is strongly linked to the networks which emerge from the private schools across the country. To think that that class is going to countenance or share with activated outer suburban cadres is highly unlikely. I think what we're seeing is a Republican fantasy world transported to the Antipodes but the Republicans don't hate the rich far from it. They demonise their elites on other grounds - religion, alleged power abuse. It's crazy!

[Random Rooster]

pretty sure random is saying that the libs with dutton as leader won't be winning back their rich heartland at the next election and he's probably right but three years is a long time in politics and if the country goes into recession it will be hard for labor to get re-elected

Yes that's what i was trying to say!

The Labor party doesn't have any policies that will lead Australia into a recession or being able to avoid the recession- whatever happens would have happened if Scomo & Co won the last election. I go back to my thoughts prior to the election....Labor has a plan to have a plan while Liberals plan promised more of the same. It was hardly inspiring from either party. No wonder the Greens did so well- it was by default!

[zac]

Well that clears that up. Thanks Zac.

The petulant rejection of the rich (Teals) that Sky goes in for and which is part of the Libs' new direction is laughable but here's hoping they pursue it vigorously. They've more or less declared war on the Rich planning a Trumpist populism which will rally the outer suburbs around cost of living which doesn't affect the rich and hence demonises them but those suburban aspirationals respect the rich as having achieved what they aspire to, or at least, their modest version of it.

Traditionally, power in the Liberal Party is strongly linked to the networks which emerge from the private schools across the country. To think that that class is going to countenance or share with activated outer suburban cadres is highly unlikely. I think what we're seeing is a Republican fantasy world transported to the Antipodes but the Republicans don't hate the rich far from it. They demonise their elites on other grounds - religion, alleged power abuse. It's crazy!

fair points.
i think knowledge class v the rest is a potentially dangerous over-simplification. labor needs to get in there and listen to those who don't have education qualifications and go into bat for them. i see trump's rise in the u.s. as a failure of leadership amongst democrats.
labor is a broad church but they need to get more candidates like the bloke they got in the hunter.

[Paddo Colt 61]

I think that the knowledge class extends to the old working class. You can't think in terms of the old classes. The old definition of Working Class was determined by one's relationship to the means of production but in these times it is whether or not one has control over one's working hours and conditions.
In the safest Labor electorates ( blue collar dominant) there is always 40% voting against their own economic interests. I'd hate to try explaining things to that lot. I might have mentioned in the past that I was an educator - they don't understand and they don't listen.
Yeah...well.. the Democrats. Clinton cut welfare, that rat from West Virginia who blocks anything progressive. Their only hope is continued rise of grassroots people like AOC and her like. Bernie Sanders would have been an interesting Democrat President but more unpopular in his own Party than he is the GOP. The US is a basket case and becoming more so. Australians don't see or realise the depth of poverty in the richest nation on Earth - 50,000,000 live in mobile homes and they don't have a Social Democratic party.

[mightyrooster]

It’s unbelievable that the Libs decided to make Dutton leader. They clearly learnt nothing from the election loss. I guess he was one of the few experienced ones left standing so the options were limited.

[Random Rooster]

Their only hope is continued rise of grassroots people like AOC and her like. Bernie Sanders would have been an interesting Democrat President but more unpopular in his own Party than he is the GOP. The US is a basket case and becoming more so. Australians don't see or realise the depth of poverty in the richest nation on Earth - 50,000,000 live in mobile homes and they don't have a Social Democratic party.

The same reason Sanders is unpopular within the Democrats can be said about AOC....."progressive" and "USA" should never be mentioned in the same sentence. Yes the US is a basket case....its one big shithole

[zac]

I think that the knowledge class extends to the old working class. You can't think in terms of the old classes. The old definition of Working Class was determined by one's relationship to the means of production but in these times it is whether or not one has control over one's working hours and conditions.
In the safest Labor electorates ( blue collar dominant) there is always 40% voting against their own economic interests. I'd hate to try explaining things to that lot. I might have mentioned in the past that I was an educator - they don't understand and they don't listen.
Yeah...well.. the Democrats. Clinton cut welfare, that rat from West Virginia who blocks anything progressive. Their only hope is continued rise of grassroots people like AOC and her like. Bernie Sanders would have been an interesting Democrat President but more unpopular in his own Party than he is the GOP. The US is a basket case and becoming more so. Australians don't see or realise the depth of poverty in the richest nation on Earth - 50,000,000 live in mobile homes and they don't have a Social Democratic party.

thank you for your service