Poll rage

Yesterday’s Queensland state election had less to do with politics than it had to do with the kind of society we have become. “Rage”, in so many forms, has become the norm. Road rage, service station rage, supermarket rage, people getting beaten up for their takeaways, hold ups on an almost daily basis… gimme, gimme, gimme. We no longer believe we have to work for what we want, it’s as if we believe it’s our right, our entitlement. And if we don’t get it immediately, we get mad.

So it was with the election. Campbell Newman isn’t the savior of Queensland, he just happened to have the best spin doctors. People didn’t vote for him or the LNP, they voted against the ALP. It was a knee-jerk reaction, a “let’s show the bastards” attitude. Poll rage. And like any knee jerk reaction, tomorrow will bring the regrets.

The misinformation in this campaign was rife. The LNP targeted Anna Bligh personally, blaming her for the state of all affairs – and so she became the scapegoat for this poll rage. The LNP complained of the lack of a “plan” for Queensland, conveniently overlooking the fact that the Government’s “Towards Q2” booklet has been in publication since 2008. Few seemed to question Newman’s bumbling on the gay rights issue. The media and mining sectors played in the sandpit with the LNP, publicly declaring support for LNP in order to get the ALP out (Courier Mail) and privately funding Newman’s campaign in Ashgrove (Sibelco). And everyone felt sorry for poor old Campbell, whose financial interests had been so rudely brought into the public spotlight.

So many controversial matters and anomalies arose, but were virtually ignored by the voting public as they kicked the ALP senseless in their poll rage. How can a person who is not even an elected representative be the leader of a political party in opposition? How can a person stand for an electorate he doesn’t live in? Why are vested interests (such as the media and the mining companies) permitted to fund political parties? How does a party which scored 27% of the vote only get 7% of the seats in parliament? How does a party which only scored 50% of the vote get 85% of the seats in parliament?

People are lazy. Few want to look up facts for themselves, they rely on media to provide them their daily sound bites or 3-minute stories. Depth is no longer valuable, sensationalism is. Money is. But then, we knew that, even before Murdoch, Palmer et al put up their hands.

I wonder how long Queensland will have to wait to find out that Campbell “Can Do” Newman actually can’t. Should we look forward to poll rage again in 3 years perhaps?