2016-05-13
Lexi Freeman
A brooding Labor Party is demanding why the Greens, a progressive party, are out to steal poor old Albo's seat. Steal is the key word here, a theft would have to take place, something that belongs to Albanese would be taken away by force. You could be forgiven for forgetting we're talking about an election, as opposed to something someone is entitled to by birthright.
Labor is busy at work forming a narrative over the fierce contests emerging in several Sydney and Melbourne inner-city seats. The narrative is two-fold; that the 'power hungry' Greens have 'done a dirty deal' with the Liberals and as a result seek to unseat aforementioned long-time Labor stalwart and progressive hero, Anthony Albanese.
The much ballyhooed deal a) does not exist and b) even if it did, is not a game changer. Analysis from prior elections has indicated that in seats where Greens have run open tickets vs seats where preference flows are explicitly spelled out, the benefit is minimal at best, irrelevant at worst.
Regardless, Albanese and Labor are Very Angry™. Indeed, Labor seems astounded at the utter temerity of the Greens to field a candidate in Albo's seat. As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald, Greens are said to be engaging in underhanded tactics such as 'polling' to try and get a leg up in these 'elections'. It seems quite the shock to both the mainstream press and the Labor Party that Greens are behaving like a political party as opposed to a fringe advocacy collective.
There is an element of panic through all of this as Labor attempts to decide on a strategy to keep Greens marginalized. Albanese appeals to his own status as the most progressive Labor member in parliament, but that is no longer the feat it once was. When Tanya Plibersek is on board with boat turnbacks, we're not in Kansas anymore: we're in Alabama. How did that happen?
Labor's inability to champion their achievements while in office had left them perpetually defending that which needs no defence. A price on carbon, national disability insurance, education reform, the national broadband network, all efforts that Labor should have owned proudly, but instead were browbeaten and bullied by the Liberals under Tony Abbott, resulting in a pitiable rightward retreat even before they lost the 2013 election. Three years later and on issues such as climate change and asylum seekers, Liberal and Labor policy is virtually indistinguishable.
That those specific issues resonate strongest with progressives is no coincidence. Greens are winning over former Labor diehards who miss the days of a progressive party with courage, the party of Whitlam. Labor and Albanese realize that they're losing ground with progressives, hence the emerging Anti-Green narrative.
Unfortunately for Labor, their failure to stay on message with their achievements in government is repeated when it comes to attacking from their left-flank. They can't quite decide whether Greens are commies or fascists. Are the Greens Malcolm Turnbull's best mate or trying to overthrow capitalism? Trotsky or Thatcher? Some days, it's both.
After all is said and done the rallying cry Labor is running with to assuage progressives is to 'wait'. Wait until the political atmosphere can tolerate treating asylum seekers with dignity. Wait until enough people have died in prison camps as to make them untenable. Wait for more consensus that climate change is actually something that deserves attention. Wait, wait, wait.
My message to Labor is also 'wait' — wait and see just how many progressives you've lost.
Lexi is a newly minted member of the North Brisbane Greens. Her present pastimes are progressive politics and alliteration. She tweets hot takes and dank memes as @1exi on Twitter.