" Ghost " Politics !

A strange thing happened at last weeks New South Wales local government election.   In some electorates candidates representing the " Liberal Democrats " appeared on the voting papers but there is little evidence of any sort of campaign or attendance at functions designed to have those offering explain their polices.   On voting day, nobody was on hand to proffer how to vote cards to the voters - and  - surprisingly -  they won three seats at the North Sydney council.

They were joined by a fourth Liberal Democrat who garnered nineteen percent of the vote without bothering to run a campaign but did have a higher profile.  It appears that many in the electorate are less than impressed with the state of politics at Federal, State and local government level and are prepared to break away from old political alliances.

It has become very evident that the electorate has moved away from the previous era of loyalty to either Labor or the Liberals when voting was usually carried out along party lines.  The all important Senate is now a mix of minor parties and their votes carry the balance of power.  That is unlikely to change in the immediate future.

Perhaps this tactical change at the local government level is the start of a new trend.  The " Liberal Democrats " are really a faction within the Liberal National coalition party with a much more " libertarian " outlook than many of their more conservative colleagues.   They seem to favour issues such as gun rights, assisted death for the terminally ill and legalisation of Cannabis.   In most respects they are in tandem with the public mood.

This recent local government election seems to have been a testing of tactics.   They choose an electorate with a strong Liberal voting record and ran three virtual unknowns under the " Liberal Democrats " banner, but without any corflute signs on people's front lawns, literature stuffed into letterboxes or attempt to sway the voting public.   Competitors had difficulties locating contact details to invite them to public meetings where policies would be debated.

They were virtually " ghost candidates " - appearing on the ballot paper but invisible in the run up to the election.  Tactically, this offered an alternative to those who are more likely to favour the Liberal outlook more than Labor but are displeased with the performance of the party in either the Federal or state sphere.  It offered an alternative while still remaining broadly within the conservative outlook of politics.

Many people regard local government as a safe way of delivering a protest vote.  Electing the odd maverick to council is unlikely to have major repercussions because a council is a microcosm on the broad political scene.  The chance of doing harm is negligible, but many voters would hesitate to make a similar decision at the state or Federal level.

Perhaps that is changing.   The fact that today when either the Liberal Coalition or Labor gain the treasury benches they find themselves having to woo minor parties in the Senate to pass legislation is consistent with moves in world politics.   It now seems rare for a political party to have the ability to pass legislation without negotiating with a blocking force.

The public mood is changing - and with it the voting pattern.