Opinion
Bland and fake: Why the electorate has given up listening to politicians
Annika Smethurst
State Political EditorPicking a winner in the Melbourne Cup is a mug’s game, but it doesn’t stop us having a punt.
Whether it’s a tip from a bloke who knows someone who works at the track, or a favourite saddle cloth number, many of us are willing to have a flutter on a random mare or stallion on Cup Day.
Premier Jacinta Allan and Liberal leader John Pesutto.Credit: The Age
Who we pick is rarely workshopped, nor is it a decision grounded in reason. Unless, of course, you’re a politician.
Pollies usually like to back local horses, or ones with links to their electorates. If there is something politically correct about their nag – perhaps it has a female jockey – then it’s a safe bet.
In other words, never take a tip from an MP.
Premier Jacinta Allan followed this safe political formula this year with the Bendigo-based MP telling the crowd at a Melbourne Cup eve luncheon that she was backing Sea King, which had earlier won the Bendigo Cup. Conveniently it was also ridden by a female jockey.
Tick, tick.
Sea King didn’t have a great run that day, but it spurred me to reflect on a pervasive problem that has infiltrated the major parties in recent decades.
Answers to questions, even inconsequential ones have become so anodyne and forgettable that it’s difficult to know when we are being offered a sincere opinion or one workshopped in a conference room.
MPs are so mindful of offending or having their words or predictions haunt them, that they have become incapable of communicating with any authenticity.
This is not a dig at Allan. It’s part of a broader problem, where politicians have become trained not to say anything controversial, qualifying every point and stick to the safety of engineered answers to the point the electorate has given up listening.
This trend has coincided with a demonisation of political imagination. Where candidates and ministers are selected for being a “safe pair of hands” rather than inspiring or interesting.
For Labor, this has resulted in a generation of politicians who have never spent any substantive time in blue-collar jobs but rather worked in offices for the right law firms, trade unions or ministers.
The Liberals are no longer dominated by small-business owners and working professionals but with former political staffers who dutifully serve time working for MPs in between stints at a suitable think tank or lobby group.
None of this should disqualify a candidate from being elected – it can be a great training ground – but nor should it be the only measure.
This penchant for blandness and false authenticity goes some way to explaining the current woes facing the two major parties in Victoria, where voters are turning away from major parties.
The Allan government is down in the polls with voters apparently cottoning on to the fact that Labor is running out of ideas. The language and promises have become focused on delivery, not inspiration or ideology.
Unfortunately for the premier, she took over an already weary government, challenged by rising debt and a dwindling pool of talent. After a decade in power, the cabinet seems to lack any credible solution or understanding of Victoria’s woes.
Instead, Labor MPs are trying to blame any issues on the four short years Victoria was under Coalition rule and hoping they can win a fourth term by simply promising to be better than the other lot.
As for the opposition, the Victorian Liberals risk spending a second decade out of government unless the party finds a way to unite its warring factions and convinces voters they are a viable alternative.
The polls may have tightened, but most of that can be attributed to voters drifting from Labor, not rushing to the opposition.
This is no great surprise given a large portion of the party room is still playing petty factional politics, with many MPs better at landing a blow on an internal rival than one on the opposite side of the chamber.
This internal focus has meant the Liberals wasted time fighting culture wars the public simply don’t care about, when they should be offering bold policies, and returning to guiding principles such as aspiration and greater personal freedom that might inspire voters to seek change.
As leader, John Pesutto promised to unify the party room. But his early decision to dump Moira Deeming squandered any goodwill and the issue has hung over the party like a dark cloud for two years, despite his best efforts to move forward.
It has meant his decisions have been influenced more by caution, than courage. The Deeming debacle has acted as a handbrake, leaving him reluctant to make more enemies or say the wrong thing.
I offer this assessment after more than a decade observing politicians in both the state and federal press galleries. Friday will be my final day on Spring Street before I take parental leave and return as Victorian affairs editor in the second half of 2025.
While prudent politicians aren’t always a bad thing, particularly when the alternative is populism, the current contempt for ideology and political courage from both major parties is only pushing voters further towards fringe movements and issues.
Annika Smethurst is state political editor.
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