A YEAR IN REVIEW: Turns Out We Were Listening To The Wrong Politician 2014 was the year that Australian social democracy fought back. Privatising government agencies has almost never been favoured by voters, and still isn’t (just ask Anna Bligh). A huge residual support base also remains for protection, and against free trade. And when pollsters ask voters whether they’d prefer lower taxes or better social services, they opt for better services. In other words, the bulk of the electorate is to the left of the Coalition on most economic policy issues except the budget deficit. Indeed, it’s probably to the left of Labor. As John Quiggin pointed out recently, “the public, which stopped believing in the microeconomic reform agenda many years ago, is now punishing governments when they persist in pushing it.” But the Abbott government is so out of touch, and so enamoured by neoliberal and libertarian philosophies, it struggles to register this electoral reality. Nor do its cheerleaders in the Murdoch media. Instead, the favoured explanation is that the government’s problems are related to Joe Hockey’s poor communication skills, or the supposedly dictatorial nature of the Prime Minster’s chief of staff. When faced with the most radical assault on Australia’s remnant welfare state in a generation, it turns out that we didn’t like it. To the astonishment of Joe Hockey and Tony Shepherd, most ordinary Australians still believe in what used to be called the “fair go”. Privatising government agencies has almost never been favoured by voters, and still isn’t (just ask Anna Bligh). A huge residual support base also remains for protection, and against free trade. And when pollsters ask voters whether they’d prefer lower taxes or better social services, they opt for better services. In other words, the bulk of the electorate is to the left of the Coalition on most economic policy issues except the budget deficit. Indeed, it’s probably to the left of Labor. As John Quiggin pointed out recently, “the public, which stopped believing in the microeconomic reform agenda many years ago, is now punishing governments when they persist in pushing it.” But the Abbott government is so out of touch, and so enamoured by neoliberal and libertarian philosophies, it struggles to register this electoral reality. Nor do its cheerleaders in the Murdoch media. Instead, the favoured explanation is that the government’s problems are related to Joe Hockey’s poor communication skills, or the supposedly dictatorial nature of the Prime Minster’s chief of staff. The unpopularity of attacks on health, education and social welfare is far from a uniquely Australian phenomenon. In Europe, far-left and far-right parties are making startling gains, with programs that are profoundly antipathetic to the kind of pro-market, anti-welfare policies advanced by Abbott and Hockey. Big banks and top CEOs are widely unpopular. The most respected people in our society continue to be service professionals like doctors, nurses and fire-fighters.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 09:33:18 +0000
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