The Economic Freedom Fighters recently launched their manifesto in Soweto. Party leader Julius Malema (waving) is the master of political theatre.
EPA/Cornell Tukiri
Red berets, hard hats, overalls and domestic workers’ uniforms have become a prominent part of South African politics. But these are more than just props for the EFF political party.
Rod Webber before a Marco Rubio rally in Exeter, New Hampshire.
REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Yanna Krupnikov, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)
NH’s election laws allow people to vote in the primaries even if they are not registered with one of the parties. How pivotal are these unenrolled voters? We look beyond the exit polls for answers.
Tony Abbott sought to rule rather than govern, in much the same way that Kevin Rudd did. Both unravelled.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The crisis of public confidence in politics is not limited to Australia, but public disengagement, retail politics and lack of vision are crippling our ability to tackle long-term and wicked problems.
Like Italian politician Silvio Berlusconi (right), PUP leader Clive Palmer heads up what can be termed a ‘personal’ party.
AAP/EPA/Alan Porritt/Angelo Carconi
While Silvio Berlusconi has shown himself to be adept at transferring business organisational and marketing skills to politics, Clive Palmer has appeared completely out of his depth in this sense.
A core problem for Treasurer Joe Hockey is that the public doesn’t share the Abbott government’s fervour for budget cuts and market policies.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
The recent losses of first-term governments in Queensland and Victoria suggests that some of the assumed verities of political process are being challenged. These results and the rapid shifting legitimacy…
We’ve learnt this year that if an MP defects – particularly to UKIP – people pay attention. With their high-profile defections causing two by-elections, Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless sparked both…
Odd one out? Jacqui Lambie walks past her Palmer United Party colleagues earlier this week.
AAP/Lukas Coch
After holding itself together for four-and-a-half months, potentially fatal cracks are appearing in the Palmer United Party (PUP). With fellow senators claiming that she refuses to attend party meetings…
Bill Shorten’s reference to party reform was once-over-lightly when he addressed the NSW ALP conference on Sunday. Shorten said Labor had to “rebuild as a party of members, not factions”. Members had to…
To find a revolution in campaigning comparable with micro-targeting you have to look back beyond the ‘Kevin 07’ online pitch to Gough Whitlam’s 1972’s TV-driven ‘It’s Time’ triumph.
AAP/Dan Peled
Australian election campaigns are facing another revolutionary change, which has the potential to transform the electoral contest, redefine campaign funding and even revive political parties. The “micro-targeting…
In joining the South Australian government, Martin Hamilton-Smith has caused outrage in a political system in which party loyalty outweighs all other considerations .
AAP/Ben Macmahon
The defection of former Liberal leader Martin Hamilton-Smith from his party to join the South Australian Labor government as a cabinet minister has caused outrage among his former colleagues. He has broken…
When it comes to the topic of conservative Christian home schooling, the term “politically tolerant” usually doesn’t spring to mind. Even while the home schooling phenomenon continues to grow and diversify…
Team spirit isn’t what it once was in the UK.
Defence Images
Perceptions of how well most major British institutions are run have plunged over the past three decades. The 30th British Social Attitudes report, published today, reports decreases in public satisfaction…
While reporters’ political biases are always hotly debated, other biases remain - including too few voices from diverse backgrounds.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Most Australian journalists describe themselves as left-wing, yet amongst those who wield the real power in the country’s newsrooms, the Coalition holds a winning lead. But while the media’s political…
Silvio Berlusconi is one of the world’s most recognisable figures, whose party and politics are based around his cult of personality.
EPA/Massimo Percossi
We’ve never been to one or the other, but we presume that Silvio Berlusconi’s and Bob Katter’s house parties are pretty different affairs. Their political parties are another matter, however. The former…
Gillard is trying to re-cast her party building on the tradition of great ALP leaders John Curtin and Ben Chifley.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s rally to the Labor faithful on Friday called for party reform. It’s become a familiar pattern of introspection within the ALP, starting with the Hawke Wran Review in 2002…
Party activists may be passionate, but they’re dwindling in number.
AAP/Dean Lewins
Around the western world, political parties have lost their appeal. Membership of major parties has declined dramatically, while our willingness to vote for one party throughout our adult lives has collapsed…