A tea party for Australia?

[pampango]

The Courier-Mail's Michael Madigan in this space last week drew clear parallels between the Tea Party which took its name from their revolutionary ancestors of 1773 Boston and our own conservative rebels, One Nation. Madigan rightly pointed out that, in the US today like Australia in the late 1990s - economic instability, widening xenophobia and a general sense of resentment toward established politics has seen the political fringes overlap the centre. Democrats and moderate Republicans are equally aghast.

Compare that to One Nation's difficulty in getting started in what is largely a two-party system in Australia. ... For one, the Tea Party is better organised and financed. For another, the Tea Party will continue to enjoy momentum on the coat-tails of the Republican brand name. ... And, perhaps most critically, the Tea Party has attracted able and appealing candidates, with Rand Paul, Pat Toomey and Jim DeMint stand-outs.

Not in its American form, but the politics of resentment that One Nation exploited more than a decade ago still bubble below the surface. However, rather than opposing immigration or free trade, this backlash will probably centre on the dreaded R word: regulation.

We might be on the cusp of a new populist revival that cuts across Left and Right in Australian politics. As the recent federal election might suggest, Australian voters have fallen out of love with catch-all parties and their stage-managed leaders. Should anger replace apathy and disenchantment, we could soon have our own tea party brewing.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/populist-reviving-may-be-brewing/story-fn5hj90f-1225949486818

Australia's One Nation party

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Nation_%28Australia%29

One Nation is a far-right and nationalist political party in Australia. ... Federally, the party peaked at the 1998 election on 9 percent but progressively lost ground at the 2001 and 2004 elections.

Believing the other parties to be out of touch with mainstream Australia, One Nation ran on a broadly populist and protectionist platform.

Condemning multiculturalism as a "threat to the very basis of the Australian culture, identity and shared values", One Nation rallied against government immigration and multicultural policies which, it argued, were leading to "the Asianisation of Australia." The party also denounced economic rationalism and globalisation, reflecting working-class dissatisfaction with the neo-liberal economic policies embraced by the major parties. Adopting strong protectionist policies, One Nation advocated the restoration of import tariffs, a revival of Australia's manufacturing industry, and an increase in support for small business and the rural sector.

During its brief period of popularity, One Nation had a major impact on Australian politics. The appeal of its policies to the National Party's constituency put great pressure on that party. The rapid rise of the party revealed a substantial minority of discontented voters dissatisfied with the major parties. Political commentator B.A. Santamaria attributed One Nation's rise to a "sense of alienation" that many Australians felt towards the political system in the 1990s and the failure of mainstream political parties to respond to this disaffection.

[Hannah Bell]

1. there's something like a tea party in almost every european country.

nuturing fascism is the typical, predictable response of the ruling class when they're busy pushing austerity onto the peasants.

in every economic crisis (read: they want more money, so they need to steal it) it happens. scapegoating of immigrants & minorities, appeal to nationalism & "good old traditional values," & most of the time, an attack on the left.

[JCMach1]

2. Ain't no tea party like my nana's tea party... Hey! Ho!