So, how 'bout that LNP Queensland state MP who defected to One Nation?
Smart, reasonable man, except for the absence of any smart or reasonable qualities.
I thought that the next Queensland election was due in 2018, with that to be the first four-year parliament? i.e. the current one is still on the three-year schedule.
But yeah, the justification regarding cannabis laws is weird. I suppose if you accept a certain viewpoint normally held by left-wing parties, but otherwise associate with right-wing policies, you often have few options in Australian politics. It's far easier, at any rate, to hold specific right-wing views in the ALP than it is to hold left-wing ones in the LNP.
What strikes me though is that One Nation's policies are a total grab-bag and very much optional. Look at Malcolm Roberts arguing for an extreme opposite to the party's explicit policy on New Zealanders. So why you would jump ship to them in the belief they're going to support your cannabis crusade is baffling. Beyond generalised racism and anti-elite grievance politics, there isn't much of a unifying spirit within the party.
Precisely. And it's why One Nation will not be a long-term force, not without some serious changes to bring about party discipline.
But it does mean we're going to have to ride out some unpleasant bumps over the next few years, and probably the Libs will repeat their late nineties act of quietly poaching much of One Nation's platform. That's the more insidious problem here.
If only this had happened a year ago. The government would not have survived an already tight contest. But with the next election not due for over two years, I fear you may be right.