Interesting analysis of the Canadian election in light of John Howard’s campaign tactics.
“Mr. Howard’s phrase for those who have switched their support from the ALP to his Liberal Party is “mainstream Australians.” These voters, who primarily live in the western suburbs of Sydney and southeast Queensland, don’t like gay marriage. They fear social change; Muslim and Asian migrants moving into their neighbourhoods scares them. They believe aboriginal Australians get too much welfare. They like tough-on-crime policies. And they focus on their economic bottom line – they like tax cuts and low interest rates.
The beauty of capturing these voters’ support is that, for a left-of-centre political force such as the ALP to win them back, it has to shift to the right – and that causes public brawling among its membership and makes the party seem a weak alternative to Mr. Howard’s.”