Yet most of all,compulsory voting means we lean towards the centre,leaving the crazies yammering on the fringe. A case in point:Clive Palmer’s shamelessly lifted Make Australia Great Again campaign in last year’s election,the $100 million flung into the ephemera of advertising,yielded laughable results. Our political landscape might sometimes seem like dry public access television compared with the American technicolour blockbuster,but we’re savvy enough to sniff out a true bullshit artist.
It’s difficult to imagine anyone better qualified to write the penetrating analysis in Trump’s Australia,but the book is not flawless and occasionally overstates the impact of Trump on Australian domestic affairs. I was surprised to see Wolpe write:“Trump enabled climate change deniers to have space in Australia’s national debate on global warming …”
Loading
The Coalition had been a welcoming home to committed deniers for at least a decade pre-Trump. Since the 2008 carbon-scare campaign,an anti-science agenda had been set by industry groups and fossil-fuel lobbyists,parroted by News Corp,before becoming a Coalition article of faith. Any attempts such as those by former PM Malcolm Turnbull to soften this stance were met with howls,particularly by the Nationals.
Having worked for former PM Julia Gillard,Wolpe witnessed this from the inside,which he recounts later,providing a myriad of reasons unrelated to Trump for Australia’s extended inaction. One senses,too,a partisan lean towards Labor,with Greens mentioned only as the party that botched Carbon pricing.
Yet of all the influences,the author is correct that the Australian right-wing media provides the ideal host for the Trumpian virus. Even before inauguration,a special sort of mania,paranoia and truth rejection descended that has yet to lift. Despite Palmer being sent packing,events such as an Australian tour by Donald Trump jnr,postponed earlier this month,reveal an audience predisposed to the cluster of celebrities and brands from the alt-right who are poised to again share ideological gripes,tactics and talking points. Who knows if the reported sellouts were true.
Either way the discourse contained inTrump’s Australia will help preserve Australian democracy whatever may come.
The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger.Get it delivered every Friday.