Election Day Reflection

Election Day Reflection
Election Day Reflection

Today I fulfilled one of my obligations as an Australian Citizen and voted in the Federal Election. Barring political tantrums, that’s it until the 2018 state election! Now that it’s over, it’s time for some election day reflection.

I don’t watch a great deal of commercial TV, and these days get most of my news online rather than in a newspaper (I still miss them), so I was fortunate to miss a lot of election rhetoric. But sadly there’s no real escape; they can still find you. And the two main parties did their best:

 Government

 Opposition

  • 2 addressed letters each, ostensibly from the Prime Minister (must have been a bit desperate)
  • 4 addressed letters each from the incumbent member
  • unaddressed leaflets delivered in the general mail
  • 3 phone messages
  • 2 addressed letters each from the candidate
  • 1 email
  • heaps of unaddressed leaflets in the mail

Similar to my experience with charity direct mail, the letter targeting wasn’t very well targeted, and none of the addressed letters adequately dealt with any of the key issues I would like to see managed. And even worse – all tiny print! No room for large print. The phone messages and email were an interesting change in tactics, but still annoying. At least I didn’t get anything in my Facebook feed!

Every year the main policy platforms of the two main parties get closer and closer, until this year there was barely a difference between them; certainly nothing significant. And as I stood in the booth with my pencil and a ballot paper as tall as I am, I really wanted to vote with a big drawing of a penis. Especially given my electorate is a “safe” seat for the government.

But then I remembered that the Prime Minister threatened me (and every other voter) with CHAOS (!!!) and a HUNG PARLIAMENT (!!!) if I didn’t vote for his party. How very dare he? There’s a reason why people choose not to vote for the main parties, and it’s about time that politicians of all stripes took a long hard look at themselves and really thought about why they are losing votes to the minor parties.

It’s such a shame – the PM showed a great deal of promise as Opposition Leader before the 2009 spill. I’m sure he could regain that popularity (and believability) if he would just take leadership of his party and develop some credible policy positions that offer a genuine and positive vision for the future; though of course, that’s not how politics works is it? Perhaps he should consider changing sides.

Now that I am a grumpy old lady, and with so little difference between the main parties, my vote is more or less reduced to a decision based on which party annoyed me the least during the campaign (DB will be happy that I won’t need to shout at the TV quite so much). And those of you who know me, know that I generally don’t take too kindly to being told what to do, and am more likely to do something contrary than otherwise. So I took pity on the scrutineers and didn’t draw a penis. I just put little parties first. Take that Prime Minister!

What about you? Did you vote “properly” or in protest?

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