South Australia Votes: The One Party to Rule Them All and One Nation's Most Successful Election Since 1998

AI Generated Art of a One Nation Volunteer distributing how to vote cards at a polling centre.

Over the weekend my state, South Australia, went to the polls to elect our government for the next four years. Going in it was considered a pretty safe bet the current Labor government, with Peter Malinauskas as Premier, would be returned. The real drama would be how the numbers looked for every other 'headline party' (those the mainstream media actually report upon) in the mix.

The election didn't disappoint. Labor won with a record breaking landslide victory. The Liberal Party took a major hit with a record breaking swing against it in almost every seat, while One Nation had it's best result in any election since 1998, and even picked up its first ever lower house seat in an election outside of Queensland.

Interestingly that seat was at the expense of Labor's former member for Light (my electorate) who decided to challenge himself by trying for the seat of neighboring electorate, Ngadjuri. Had he stayed with Light he would've been fine, as we remain a Labor seat with our new representative, what's his name...uh... James Agness. (At the time of writing 63.9% of the vote had been counted in Light and it's still a close battle with One Nation's Alex Banks - and I can't believe I live in what is shaping up to be One Nation's heartland in SA).

My preferred party, The Greens, did see a swing toward them, which I guess is partially former Labor supporters, since, despite their record win, actually saw a swing against them. Overall the Greens are sitting fourth on the party totals, and they're not even close to One Nation's vote count - a party which used to be comparable to them, in the results.

Going into my polling booth, I literally asked everyone who offered me a how to vote card who they were from, and not one was from the Greens. Two from One Nation though.

If South Australia's election result is any indicator for the rest of the country then One Nation's idea that they may have a shot at being part of the next conservative coalition government (currently no right wing party can win against Labor in their own right, hence why, Federally, our conservative governments have been a combination of Liberal and National parties).

In my previous post mentioning One Nation, Australian Liberal, National Party Split, and One Nation Thinks They're in with a Chance at a Coalition Government, I described them as a 'minor party' unlikely to ever form government. If the current trend continues through other states, and into the Federal election, One Nation could well become the new conservative party. All they need do is find a coalition that gives them a majority against Labor and they've finally done what no one thought possible just a few years ago (with exception to One Nation supporters, obviously).

Meanwhile, until One Nation gets that clarity, or until the Liberal Party regroups and restores voter trust, the Australian Labor party is now the ONE party to rule them all (in SA at least). Despite all its issues Labor, and the left does one thing better than conservatives, which is work as a team. For the most part... there was those years where the Federal Labor party kept changing leaders almost as often as I change my socks but, when they get it right, their team work is strong.

I wouldn't say I'm the Labor party's greatest fan but they're preferable to One Nation. I do hope the Liberal party can regroup, and maybe the National Party too. I really don't want to have to find out what a One Nation Coalition government would look like.

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