Yes, they're here and there's many to come.
Political commentators, journos, reporters you name it they've been running on empty for days and now the relief is in sight. In sight, but not yet here.
I'd expect Labor will be written up as the strong campaigners, consistant narrative, uniform message and on message 24/7. Yep they had a few stumbles but their recoveries on stumbles were relatively quick and mostly didn't suffer many cuts at all.
The others, not so good, many many cuts...some to the bone.
Nats ran a strong on song campaign too and probably did pull a good sized healthy rabbit out of the hat when all things are considered. Some'll lose their seats but its not the routing some were expecting. In fact their message was consistent and travelled well considering the shoe string budget they would have been on. There's a good case to argue that despite a result worse than last election they may have actually continued to punch above their weight considering the Labor behemoth that scorched the bare earth across WA.
One Nation...well yes Pauline now says the PHON/Liberal preference deal did them great damage. True to some unknown extent perhaps but its also the case that PHON were the exact opposite of the Labor campaign and have been for months. The Rodney Culleton Effect was in play a long time ago & it still may have contributed to the ongoing saga that PHON displayed. The underlying saga is underlying rot. Members, volunteers and candidates were sacked or unwillingly thrown under the bus or just plain peeved with eastern states micro managing they left. Their turnover of people in the last month is greater, far far greater than Labor's in the last 2 years. It looked like a confused rabble with various messages, less than coherent far from consistent.
Yes, in hindsight, the rabble appearance blundering over the landscape in search of unity probably undid PHON and made them less appealing than ever. The PHON show had been rolling just a bit too long by the time the WA Election hit town and by then the decline, the virus, the slow folding collapse had momentum.
Liberals, well yes...back in January I said they'd win with PHON help and think back then an election on that day might have gone close to producing that result. Today...last night, well I'll return to a descripter I used some years ago about a Liberal MP...
"Has all the chances of a paper dog chasing an asbestos cat through hell..."
Would Dean Nalder got them over the line, would the property developers who commissioned polls to flick Barnett been onto something? Or would whoever they'd planned on done the same thing?
We'll never know. Were the developers onto something or on something?
Well one thing is for sure, yes Labor was on something, express ride to government but they had all the trimmings well attached to the vehicle as well. On song message, including a fearful cry about Western Power but they'd save it.
My other prediction was SFFP would fair better than PHON and that's still undecided yet and whilst I claimed that one, right now I don't know if that's correct or likely or not happening.
If Rick Mazza (SFFP) loses his seat it will be a fair bugger for WA whether people know or notice it or not. In his first 18 months of his first term fact remains he was on 4 Standing & Sitting Committees including the very telling RSPCA review that he chaired. Many other upper house MPs of varying stripes sat on only one committee with a few on a big fat ZERO.
You don't have to be a SFFP member or voter to realise we need performers in office, not just on the chamber floor.
The Upper House outcome is going to be a weird one, in the lower house the Libs are going to suffer an utter routing with MPs tossed out yet Dean Nalder will keep his seat. I've heard some folk use two words to describe the Conservative Outcome...one of those words is "CLUSTER" - Enough said.
Brendon Grylls might win or might lose his seat but he stayed on song despite the possibility of losing his seat. In fact whilst some good Nats could go, there's probably one Nat who could go who's departure could help the Nats longer term. The fact One Nation didn't displace the Nats in a horrific blood covered wholesale fashion could point to tell tale signs about the Nats & One Nation. Good for Nationals, poorly for the PHON.
My view was clouded by preference and so whilst at times I thought Labor had better chances than Liberals I thought McGowan's team would come second. He came first in what will have to be called by someone, at sometime a landslide. Perhaps seismic in proportion.
Its now the Upper House dynamic all will be watching and the people living outside of Perth they'll be closely watching what will happen to Royalties for Regions. Will the debt & deficit be able to be rectified and can it be done without pillaging Royalties for Regions?
If costs from other portfolios stop being paid for by Consolidated funds or dedicated portfolio pathways and start being allocated to RfR then we're looking at dodgy cost shifting. As much as I hate it, it may have to happen to some extent because fact is the debt & deficit is huge and we'll all have to do some of the heavy lifting and help pay the ferryman.
Its the concern that RfR will be gouged and gutted to fund Metronet etc most in the bush will expect and/or fear. Will the city create a greater divide by gutting the country.
Again, its a landslide, but the Upper House landscape is still unknown and even with depleted numbers the Nationals along with the SFFP & maybe even PHON rabble may be in a strangley commanding position. At least 2 of those three aren't considered to be based on toxic foundations and have the ability to work together. Then again if SFFP don't get a seat & PHON do it leaves an experienced reliable member of second Tier Party scene (Nats) and one looking as incoherent & all over the place a mad man's spit (PHON).
Ifs, buts and maybes...chances are there's going to be an odd mix in the Upper House and possibly a large cross bench in a hung Upper House. So many possibilities but if WA is to climb out of the mineshaft, its going to need concerted effort by all involved and compromise to get us rebuilding towards a stronger position. The opportunity is there to open a new chapter where all parties are more cooperative to reach the greater goal. There I go with personal preference again, possibly wrong again.
The commentators need to get some sleep...we're possibly in for turbulence.
And lots of it.
Yes buckle up, the flight's barely left the tarmac & we maybe in for a bumpy ride.
At least the cartoonists will have a field day for some time yet.
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