Parties focus on swingers
Political expert: attack Palaszczuk at your peril
WILL it play in Pindi Pindi? How about Pittsworth?
A people’s forum with state party leaders and 100 undecided voters should shed some light on Queensland’s voter fault lines.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, LNP frontman Tim Nicholls and One Nation Leader Steve Dickson will try to enthuse the voters tonight at the Broncos Leagues Club in Brisbane.
Personality will be a pulling factor for some swing voters, Griffith University’s Dr Paul Williams says.
“Most swing voters tend to be swayed by what we call shortterm effects, that can be as simple as ‘How does the leader look and sound’?” he said.
“Palaszczuk has been Labor’s best asset and in some cases you might say only asset.”
Many people viewed her as a “nice lady who’s honest and hard-working,” he said.
So any attacks from other leaders on her integrity will elicit a vehement response.
Mr Nicholls had at least run a relatively positive campaign.
But he was personally too “smooth” and urbane for many regional voters, Dr Williams said, so would rely on talking up the LNP as a “sound economic manager” and a unified, competent party.
As for Mr Dickson, until not that long ago nobody outside Buderim other than the “political class” knew he existed.
Dr Williams said there was little Mr Dickson could do other than tap into discontent with elites.
In recent weeks his profile had grown enormously – but Pauline Hanson was still the one calling the shots.
“It’s not his race to run. The One Nation campaign is very much about Pauline,” Dr Williams said.
UQ professor Katharine Gelber said the big party leaders would be loath to signal deals with One Nation.
“Experience has shown that that is going to tarnish them,” she said.
She said One Nation’s Fraser Anning defection fiasco this week exposed internal issues.
“They don’t have any party discipline and Pauline Hanson’s individualist control of the party is resented by other party members,” Professor Gelber added. “Having said that, I don’t know whether their voters mind.”
Some issues transcended regional differences, Dr Williams said. “How good is my local school? How good is my local hospital?”
But he said politicians must tailor their message to resonate with unique local concerns.