Well Done Conservatives

[Aloysius]

Just to help:

 

Conservative does not equal right, or rightwing.

 

The ALP is very much a conservative party today, it is interested in preserving the status quo particularly when matters related to it's major funding sources - the Union movement - are concerned.

 

That is a legitimate position to have.

It also must be recognised.

 

The ALP was not always a conservative party witness the significant changes made during the Keating years as treasurer and then PM.

Indeed we can see that as a "progressive party" the ALP actually moved to the right in a number of areas.

 

 

This can be confusing if one doesn't understand the meaning of right, left, conservative, and progressive.

 

Populism is a better descriptor of many of the  positions adopted by the ALP, One Nation, the Xenophon (any relation to the Xenophobes?)party and the like.

 

 

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/iese/2017/0...2c9ed51d44

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">"Other key characteristics include:

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">• Politics are based on emotion to generate a feeling of affective identification.

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">• Intellectuals and experts are viewed with suspicion because of their ties with the elite. Their words are perceived as skewed and biased.

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">• The idea that the general will should prevail. Since representative democracies use intermediate structures, such as representatives and political parties, the will of the people should be abided. Liberal institutions (the separation of powers, the neutrality of state institutions, the defense of political and media pluralism) are no longer useful.

 
<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">• Anyone who disagrees with the body politic should be spurned and, if necessary, intimidated. Those who try to stabilize political institutions will hinder the advancement of populism.

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">• Actions are channeled through provocation and protest. It is argued that dialogue no longer makes sense since it is controlled by the elite.

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">• Conflict reigns in populist strategies. The liberal democratic system has always tried to conceal conflict (either because of lack of interest, because they don't know how to tackle it or because it is not considered media-worthy). In populist movements, the reverse is true: now it is important to accentuate every conflict and wrap it up tightly in an emotionally charged bundle.

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">• Populism is normally, though not always, triggered by a charismatic leader who articulates the collective anxieties of the people.

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">• It is also important to note that while problems relating to ethnic minorities or immigrants are sometimes (but not always) relevant to populist movements, populism is not necessarily xenophobic."

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">The first highlighted area above can be seen in the anti FWA position

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">The second highlighted area is well exampled by the LBGT campaign against company directors that do not support their view.

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);"> 

<p style="font-size:21px;font-family:Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);">The last is exampled by the One Nation pronouncements pertaining to muslims.