Election 2016: a reflection

How utterly disappointing. The Turnbull Government had the onus of providing a stable, cohesive government for their second term and it looks like they’ll do neither. Contemporary Australian politics is scarred by a myriad of back-stabbings, scandals and disunity, and it seems this trend will continue. Divisions within the far-right of the Coalition will likely spread to the entire Coalition partyroom in a time of upheaval for the Australian economy. In these uncertain times, the Australian people have a gruelling 3 years ahead of us.

Credit must be awarded to Bill Shorten and the ALP for their unexpectedly successful campaign. Perhaps the ‘Mediscare’ campaign largely contributed to their success. Regardless of the morals and ethics of this particular election strategy, the Australian peoples’ willingness to believe this is indicative of profound mistrust in the current government. Moreover, their indecision to overwhelmingly support one party and the propensity to vote for independent and other alternative candidates demonstrates flaws in both the LNP and ALP’s campaigns. Neither of these, after all, were able to garner the majority that a cohesive democracy requires. It’s fair to say this does not bode well for the future of our nation’s politics. In a time when the world is wracked by political and economic uncertainty, an election result that produces a weak Government is a disappointing and worrying outcome.