Via MeFi. This gave me a good laugh, someone is trying to describe Australian politics to an American audience:
It’s all perfectly simple. Australia’s ruling conservative party is called the Liberal Party. The opposing, allegedly more liberal party is called the Labor Party (yes, spelled the American way).
Other highlights include the Australian Democrats, who are republicans, a niche party called One Nation which is highly divisive, and The Greens, who are led by a man named Brown.
I am reminded of the tea towels that used to be sold with the rules of cricket on them. Each man that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he’s out he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out. When they are all out, the side that’s out …
Heh. Obviously you don’t vote Nationals if you’re laughing. ;-)
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What gets me about the descriptions of US politics is the red state – blue state thing, which turns out to be just an accident and settled down only this century.
Red = blue. Blue = red. Merde.
Oh, and let’s not even attempt to explain US politics to Australians. The head of government is not in parliament but is voted for separately. The cabinet is not in parliament but is appointed separately. They have two political parties but they don’t support each other all the time when they vote.
They vote with these machines and no-one can check them and they are run by a company which gives a heap of money to the current president..
They have these things called primaries which.. which… my head hurts. Help me now!
Saint, How about “Other highlights include the Australian Democrats, who are republicans, the Nationals who are regional, a niche party called One Nation which is highly divisive, and The Greens, who are led by a man named Brown.”
?
“Nationals who are regional” Heh. Yep. That’s Aussie politics.
You’ve forgotten the monarchists who insist we’re already a republic where the governor-general, not the queen, heads the monarchy.
Cam,
You haven’t mentioned the Australian Gruen Party.
The Australian Gruens don’t count because they don’t have a leader named Werner von Braun.
Nicholas, Don’t tell me, to conform to the tea towel political narrative, no actual Gruens are in the party?
#8 Alan – well THEY would fail that question in the values test! Ignore Lizzie at your peril.
Yes, as I understand it there are no Gruens in the Gruen party. I can’t remember the details but I’m pretty sure that they called it the Gruen party because they wanted to call it the Green Party and the Electoral Commission wouldn’t let them because the name – and therefore names too like it – were already taken.
Cam:
Ah yes but the Nationals are only moderately active in one region [and headed for extinction just about everywhere else], should we call them the Provincials?