From today’s Crikey “Tips and Rumours” section:
The Liberals have decided to preference the Christian Democrats. This is a high risk policy as if they don’t get an absolute majority initially all the preferences will keep flowing to the Christian democrat even from the Greens as I understand it. Fletcher might be responsible for electing the first Christian democrat(?) to the Federal lower house.
I don’t think I really need to explain how many different things are wrong with this story. Although to be fair to Crikey it was in their ‘tips and rumours’ section, so I’m not suggesting this is what their journos think. Still…
Then again, this’ll probably form the basis of a Glenn Milne column in the next few days.
Yes, still – you’d think it would be obvious to someone that it’s total garbage and they wouldn’t run it.
This is just ridiculous, even for Crikey!
I pulled up at that one also. Bizarre.
So let’s have a guess of primary vote and 2PP.
I’ll say, after excluding informals:
Lib 50%
Green 32%
CDP 8%
Broad others: 10%
Washing up to a 2PP of 59/41.
Someone with money should advertise loud and clear that the Liberal’s (the name of the Party, a fraud to start with) second preference is for Religious Fundamentalism! The Liberal Party would prefer a party of ‘hate’, discrimation and prejudice rather than preferencing parties of democracy and Individual freedoms. The Liberals used to brag about how they stand for individual rights but are now like the Labor Party, only rights for some!
Crazy as this is, people believe things like this. I’ve told this story a few times, so sorry for those who have heard it.
Friends of my parents, life long Labor voters, decided to vote Green after Tampa to punish the ALP. However, on receiving the HTV card they saw the Greens had put second someone they thought might be anti-Israel (to the best of my knowledge he’s not, but that’s besides the point). They decided they could not vote Green, not because they were offended by this since they weren’t sure where he stood, but because they were worried their preference might elect him. That the candidate got 1% of the vote and had zero chance of winning AND that they could vote 1 Green and 2 Labor if they wanted to both passed them by. Instead they switched to Labor. This couple have something like seven university degrees between them and one of them was a key player in one of the major medical breakthroughs of our lifetimes. Not stupid people in other words. But somehow…
The case for civics education in a nutshell.
Brenton: I’d say Libs have probably directed preferences to the Greens more times than the other way around. If CDP are offering 2 for 2 and nobody else is prepared to touch you, that’s the political reality you’re dealing with.
Further to what Stephen has said – I think this is one reason why the Greens should poll better in Melbourne in the next election. I’ve met a lot of people in Melbourne who really hated the Howard Government, but didn’t agree with a lot of the ALP’s policies. However they wouldn’t vote for a progressive minor party because they honestly believed they had to give the ALP their primary vote to try to stop the Howard Government getting re-elected. Now that the ALP is actually in government, maybe they’ll switch their vote to the Greens. Trying to explain preferential voting to them was like talking to a brick wall.
Exactly Polly, that’s why I think the Greens will come close in Sydney and Grayndler as well and should target them.
Guys,
Has anyone actually verified the original preferences assertion? I can’t find mention of it online, and I’m waiting for confirmation from the Liberal Party.
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