Aussie politics is a strange bugger. Far be it from me to comment on the politics of another nation (ahem)โฆ but I just canโt help it when my wingnut detector goes this ape. Iโm not sure that you can even fit Australian politics into a traditional Overton window โ Liberal in Australia seems to mean economically neo-liberal, as opposed to socially and democratically liberal, as weโd been led to believe.
Just to be clear, Iโm not trying to set us (here in the UK) up on some kind of pedestal โ if youโve ever read anything Iโve written, you know how ridiculous that would be. No, the reality is that Australia is important to the rest of the world. Their natural resources are of major importance world-wide. The environmental status of Australia is a standard candle for the health of the global environment and, being a leading developed nation, it falls to them to help lead the way in environmental protection.
With a less singular focus, the leadership of western democracies has been falling further and further into the hands of neo-liberal administrations โ administrations whoโs main job is making sure the international cartels get exactly whatever the **bleep** they want. It looked like Australia had moved a step away from that position with the election of Julia Gillard (an atheist in office? Gets my vote). The world breathed a brief sigh of relief untilโฆ
With a face so taut it has been speculated (by me) that it may be pinned to his **bleep** with staples, Tony Abbott enters stage left. Brandishing a Catholic Seminary education, the winds of change begin to blow a howling gale, as Planet Earth collectively **bleep**s itself. I mean, if Tone is going to dump a load of **bleep** on your most sensitive areas, you may as well prepare the ground, no?
Tony just loves to get his facial of a fine morningโฆ
So far, heโs shown himself to be a violent, misogynistic, antipathetic weasel with no regard for people or the environment โ qualities which make him roughly perfect for the job of sucking corporate **bleep**. Itโs not even as if he hid these characteristics particularly well before his election โ his face-palm moments have been well documented since the very beginning of his political life.
