Today marks the Ides of March. Known for the demise of Julius Caesar at the hands of assassins, the date was also regarded as the deadline for settling debts and associated with certain religious observations. This year's Ides of March is notable for the first day of Labor's next term of office in Western Australia and the Federal Attorney General's launch of defamation proceedings against the ABC.
Interesting times.
The Liberal Party was decimated in last Saturday's election. Having previously held just over a dozen seats in the Western Australian parliament, their number has been reduced to two, possibly three. Their young and idealistic, albeit still conservative lead, Mister Zak Kirkup was first to feel the wrath of electors, losing his seat along with some other rather startled opposition members. That Premier Mark McGowan was going to win a second term was never in doubt, but the scale of this disaster for obviously out-of-touch Liberal members rivals Caesar's murder way back in 44 BC.
Not that you'd know the Liberals were a spent force in Western Australia, given the presence and behaviour of their supporters at the election polling station here in Heavenly Beverley on Saturday. I had volunteered to man the Labor table, wearing my fantastically red teeshirt, giving out how to vote information and mingling with the Mightier Than Thou. I was obviously on the nose as far as they were concerned.
Mister Very Toothy Checked Shirt spent his time engaged in conversation with Mister Bucket Hat Checked Shirt, who was supporting our local Nationals member. Another bloke was slightly more cordial, flitting backwards and forwards to the Cricket Final to keep up with the score. Those occasions were the only times he actually engaged with me in any form of conversation.
Initially, I felt very much that I was attending a 1950s Australian Barbeque. The Boys in Blue formed a circle with their cronies, and only deigned to talk to me if I actually broke the Ring of Confidence. There were a couple of spare seats available but they were firmly placed under the table at the Enemy Camp. During that long afternoon, Missus Local Liberal Matriach honoured us all with her arrival and was promptly offered a chair by Mister Very Toothy Checked Shirt.
I was not.
There were three other parties in attendance. One was the candidate for the Western Australian Party. The Shooters and Fishers Party were represented by a husband and wife and Dennis from Wyalkatchum was campaigning for the Christian Party. We passed the time in mutual camaraderie.
The chap from the Shooters and Fishers had to remonstrate with the conservative mob for encroaching too close to the doors of the polling booth. They only withdrew when he threatened to lodge a formal complaint. They also took great delight in pushing past me at every opportunity to press their how-to-vote leaflets into the hands of voters ahead of the pack. Obviously, hubris is associated with a lack of good manners.
I must admit to a couple of provocative moments. Mister Very Toothy Checked Shirt merely gazed into the distance when I suggested the Attorney General might welcome an independent enquiry to clear his name. Missus Local Liberal Matriach simply pursed her lips when I regaled the lack of assistance we'd received from Mister Porter when he was Social Services Minister. And when I offered to tackle MLC Darren West on suggestions of rudeness towards Nationals leader Ms Mia Davies, she rapidly backpedalled and insisted my action was not necessary...Well, I never.
So why on earth did I volunteer to stick out like a sore thumb in a safe Nationals seat? Because their Leader, our local member, has shown decreasing interest in us. She has come into our Gallery once in our six years of existence. She did buy a wonderful Brian Aylward painting, which was most appreciated at the time. However, she claimed that the Labor victory in 2017 would be catastrophic for Western Australia. This has not been the case and she has never admitted her views may have been misplaced. After voting for her in the last two State elections, I could not vote for her a third time, due to her fervent prophecy of doom. We will follow her likely trajectory into Opposition Leader status with keen interest.
Will I subject myself to the company of the Chosen Ones at the next election? Probably. If I can hold my head high with dignity and behave with manners, then I will. And perhaps with time, a few more will feel neglected by the conservative voices and question their political decisions, rather than blindly voting for a force that is failing many Australians.
Probable opposition leader - Ms Mia Davies.
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