The Mandate Mantra

June 18, 2011 in Rants & Raves
Tags: Australia, ballot box, democracy, election promises, government, mandate, personal opinion, political parties, politics, public policy, voters, voting

Australia has a very robust yet stable political environment. I often marvel at how well Australia has been able to keep itself together as a federation of states.

Over the years it’s become quite obvious that we’ve dropped UK elements in our political dialogue and discourse; even the campaigning style. These days, Australia’s politics is more heavily influenced by American politics. One of the most irritating elements of American politics influencing Australia is that of the ‘mandate’.

It’s a word that is bandied about so much that it truly has lost all meaning.

Tony Abbott and his band of naysayers use it like it were a mallet. The media uses it as though it had any relevance to Australian politics or was an analysis of such.

The media’s and Opposition’s portrayal of a ‘mandate’ doesn’t exist in Australian politics.

The closest we get is to who forms government. It actually doesn’t matter how many votes you have or whether or not you secured the highest primary vote. What matters is which party(ies) gets to form government. If you get to form government then you have a mandate for your policies and election promises; and responsibility for the not following through with policies and promises.

Given that this is the case in Australia it beggars belief that the media continues to fall for the ‘mandate’ line from the Opposition.

The real question of a mandate is looking at the promises made by the parties (parties and independents) at elections.

John Howard often claimed to have a mandate despite repeatedly breaking promises. Lets not forget his assault on workers’ rights for which he hadn’t campaigned on and which ultimately cost him the 2007 election.

To complain that Julia Gillard broke her promise about a price on pollution (and thus has no mandate to itnroduce it) is misguided at best and malicious at worst. Howard had outright majorities. Gillard had to broker a minority government with the ALP forming the Cabinet and Executive. Once she had to broker a minority government her promises were largely negated – policies have to be negotiated with the cross benches.

This would have been the case for Tony Abbott should he had been able to have formed a minority government. Once he had to broker a minority government his promises were negated. Fortunately he wasn’t able to convince Oakeshott, Wilkie and Windsor of the merits of backing a conservative minority government (especially with the Greens soon to hold the balance of power in the Senate).

Australia doesn’t have a mandate-style of politics depicted by the media and Opposition. The mandate that government’s have is through securing enough seats with the policies and promises they make to win government.