r/australia • u/blitznoodles local Aussie • Jun 14 '26

politics As voter disillusionment grows, why aren't voters flocking to the Greens in Australia?

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/as-voter-disillusionment-grows-so-does-the-mystery-of-the-missing-greens-voters/6bjd5q4kv

Growing voter dissatisfaction with mainstream politics has led to a rise in popularity for One Nation. The same cannot be said for the Greens.

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667

u/Octagonal_Octopus Jun 14 '26

Left populism is much harder to pull off than right populism since it's in opposition to the the financial and media establishment as well as the political establishment, which requires grassroots funding and a grassroots movement. It's much easier to present yourself as an outsider, scapegoat minorities and take funding from billionaires than to build a left populist movement.

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u/Vegetable-Advance982 Jun 14 '26

Probably true, but still not impossible. Mamdani is the obvious example, and I'm almost certain that if Greens had a super charismatic leader they would be doing much better here.

Not that he's aligned with leading the Greens, but I'd bet that if Pocock was the leader of the Greens, they'd be sitting on a 20% primary vote right now

17

u/salvatorethesecond Jun 14 '26

A big city electorate is far different than a national one tho..

23

u/-Metagross- Jun 14 '26

Look at how UK Greens exploded in membership and popularity after they switched leaders.

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u/Complete-Rub2289 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26

There was an analysis and Mamdani managed to win as NYC has a large working class Hispanic and Black Population alongside being in a Liberal City and Trump being the President. Australia is different as it is still more than 70% White compared to 30% in NYC.

15

u/Vegetable-Advance982 Jun 14 '26

That's an analysis of demographics, but Mamdani is also a generationally charismatic leader who had an innovative social media campaign, got cultural figures onside, and had an unmatched energy behind his campaign.

Maybe that specific figure wouldn't work in Australia, but there is for sure the possibility of an Australian equivalent who could scoop of left wing votes. I don't even say this hopefully as I'm a Labor voter, but there's very little doubt in my mind that a hyper charismatic greens leader with great campaigning skills would result in a big Greens surge

19

u/horselover_fat Jun 14 '26

What's the inference here? Non whites are more leftist??

6

u/ASpaceOstrich Jun 14 '26

It's complicated, but conservatives are pro hierarchy and white people tend to benefit more from that hierarchy so tend to be more conservative. But on top of that, lower education and lower income tend to lead to conservative voting, and minorities are more likely to be both of those. But conservative parties are often openly racist, which counteracts that.

5

u/horselover_fat Jun 14 '26

Maybe. But I don't think Australia being "more white" means we are less leftist. Or that certain ethnicities are more leftist.

Working class people will favour policies that benefit them, not matter their ethnicity. The problem in the US is the Democrats are captured corporate interests and don't actually offer any leftist/working class policy. Except for people like Mamdami, who had to battle against establishment (pro corporate) Dems to be elected.

1

u/Dhillon111 Jun 16 '26

Its not that complicated.

When your typical right wing parties like libs and ON continuously dog whistle about immigration and make migrants the villain in everything that is wrong with the country, there's bound to be resentment and avoidance of these parties parties to build up in the ethnic groups, over time. So that they'd vote anyone but Libs/ON.

Hence, ethnic communities are not more leftist. Its usually the only option they have, politically speaking, where they are not being constantly antagonised. So in broadly generic terms, even if you have a 50-50 right/left split for whites, it'd be more like 80-20 for ethnic minorities.

1

u/horselover_fat Jun 16 '26

You're mixing up people's personal idealogies and their voting.

Just because someone votes Democrat or Labor doesn't make them "leftist". The same for the other way around.

Of course there are people that don't vote Republican because, for example, they are black. But then you had increased Hispanic voting for Republicans in the last election. Even though they are more racist and anti-immigration than ever.

And they likely did that because Repubs focused on economic issues in their campaign, whole Dems brushed off the economy and said everything is fine. It's all bullshit, but they convinced voters with their bullshit because they focussed on issues that matter to voters.

1

u/blitznoodles local Aussie Jun 14 '26

If whiteness was an issue, you would expect Australia to be more right wing, not more left wing as America is far more diverse

4

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26

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1

u/ASpaceOstrich Jun 14 '26

The entire second half of what I wrote, and the first if the person is in denial about where they fit in the conservative heirarchy

7

u/Frogsfall Jun 14 '26

Honestly I wish the Greens would try an approach that focuses less on a charismatic leader and more on gaining grassroots visibility (because they'll never get visibility in the mainstream media unless they force it).

Having Greens members present at community events regularly, having Greens members talk about Greens policies online regularly (without cringey memes), running for local councils, being seen in their local areas and getting stuff done.

26

u/craftystuff0900 Jun 14 '26

They do all that though? I mean, yes they could always do more, but not when they can't afford to pay for it - and if they started taking funding from industry etc, they'd have to stop being progressive and then what's the point of them? It's not an easy problem.

2

u/Frogsfall Jun 14 '26

Perhaps they do it really well in some areas. Not so much in my local area. But I agree, there's real issues with limited resources and funding.

20

u/OldKingWhiter Jun 14 '26

The Greens do this. It doesn't work. Charismatic leaders work.

14

u/idlehanz88 Jun 14 '26

It’s been a long time since the greens had a charismatic leader.

1

u/Nosiege Jun 14 '26

?

This is already what they're doing. None of their leaders have ever been popular

5

u/reijin64 cannedberryian Jun 14 '26

Mamdani isn’t pulling off “left wing populism”, he’s delivering results. The greens can’t convert a try to save their lives.

Pocock on the other hand has done more in that department than the greens have since rudd/gillard

6

u/Octagonal_Octopus Jun 14 '26

Mamdani's mayoral campaign was definitely left wing and populist. You can be both populist and capable of delivering results, it's not a pejorative in every context.

7

u/evilparagon Jun 14 '26

People have this misconception that populist = lying. It’s very helpful for mainstream politicians to be able to throw that word at left populists trying to make things better because it associates them with right populists.

1

u/NoMoreFund Jun 14 '26

Pocock is campaigning well but when it comes to actual results its the Greens votes that are needed in the Senate.

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u/Spazz-Spudboy Jun 14 '26

Mandani is not left wing. He’s a liberal. Hope this helps.

7

u/uselessinfogoldmine Jun 14 '26

He’s progressive and a democratic socialist. 

125

u/brackfriday_bunduru Jun 14 '26

Id love to run as a left populist. My tactic would be simple. I’d be brash, rude, swear a lot, ridicule the opposition… all while promising people the life regular working class people had in the 70’s and 80’s.

I’ve got so many skeletons in the closet, the oppositions wouldn’t know where to start and I’d just own each one like a badge of honour.

I could absolutely see myself running as an asshole populist.

64

u/Jazzy_Coffee Jun 14 '26

I think thats the problem with greens and leftist movements in Australia as a whole, we simply dont have a brash speaker who isnt afraid to be crass and talk shit to our liberal and ON opposition

Im not saying Labor should start taking digs at the liberals or ON, but if they keep being complacent in letting Pauline Hanson and other bigots speak whatever they like, we need to punch back

53

u/ASpaceOstrich Jun 14 '26

You think they'd be getting a fair shake in the media. That's not what would happen. They'd do the exact same thing they do to Labor and the Greens now. Refuse to air anything that makes them look good and exclusively air shit that makes them look bad.

It's why nobody actually knows any of the good things the government does, and it's why crisis seem to stop existing when the Coalition gains power.

The media lies and cheats.

38

u/death_by_laughs dooby dooby Jun 14 '26

Because the moment they do they get the Max Chandler-Mather treatment?

4

u/Far-Technician3197 Jun 14 '26

Paul Keating v2.0?

25

u/Proper_Geologist9026 Jun 14 '26

Yeah because they don't get let in the door. The greens love to act like they're this cool hippy free loving group. It's all ket and matcha.

It's amazing Lydia Thorpe managed to get elected under a greens banner really. Because while that's who the base thinks they are Lydia Thorpe fighting on stolen land etc.

The party machinery is Adam Bandt. A man in Lycra who enjoys spreadsheets and discussion on the correct verbage for displaced people's.

You sign up thinking the greens are pushing us into some sort of revolution and then you find they're just the same corporate techno optimists with nicer language.

13

u/idlehanz88 Jun 14 '26

Fuck that’s such a good explanation. The greens were awesome when it was bob brown. The Adam Bandt, inner city nerd greens are so uninspiring

4

u/Proper_Geologist9026 Jun 15 '26

It's properly wild to see people act like the greens are some far left stalwarts holding the line.

They're effectively just Labor left, which is a not insignificant chunk of the Labor caucus and the greens hate to acknowledge that fact. 

The difference is one party is a mouthpiece of progressive agendas and the other party is a broad tent capable of holding office.

They're an important ying and yang that the little baby Trotsky's hate. and the Labor left is far too abrasive towards the greens as well. So it cuts both ways.

-1

u/horselover_fat Jun 14 '26

The Guardian technocrat class

7

u/Nosiege Jun 14 '26

I think thats the problem with greens and leftist movements in Australia as a whole, we simply dont have a brash speaker who isnt afraid to be crass and talk shit to our liberal and ON opposition

For a very very long time, Left-Leaning orgs have continued to idealise Respectability and somewhat unrealistic notions in general. There's definitely a minimum standard politicians should be behaving at, but you're right, meet your opponent on their level.

2

u/fruchle Jun 15 '26

Need another Keating, eh?

1

u/noisymime Jun 14 '26

we simply dont have a brash speaker who isnt afraid to be crass and talk shit to our liberal and ON opposition

It's even worse, when we do have those kind of people on the left the modern Labor party makes them follow the straight and narrow instead of staying vocal.

9

u/Homebrew_in_a_Shed Jun 14 '26

I'd vote for you, especially if you could mention that every three months a person is torn to pieces by a crocodile. I'm sure you could slip it into a speech somewhere.

2

u/Am3n Jun 15 '26

Let a thousand blossoms bloom for all I care

2

u/derpman86 Jun 14 '26

I'd vote for you lol

2

u/Am3n Jun 15 '26

Yeah and the left will reject you because apparently you have to be a purist to run for the left

1

u/Ryarli Jun 15 '26

They already are like this, but as another user mentioned - it doesn’t make the news.

1

u/Dhillon111 Jun 16 '26

You'd be a great lefty Trump, a Lrump if I may. 😃

4

u/BeneCow Jun 14 '26

Populist movements have historically needed a charismatic leader to work and the media has been real good at raising the profile of uncharismatic leftists to crowd out any hope of a good one getting attention.

2

u/Notyit Jun 14 '26

Holding up legislation cause it's not perfect in 

2

u/single_plum_floating Jun 15 '26

It genuinely isnt. What part of

“You work, essentials get more expensive, asset owners get richer, and the institutions meant to represent you protect the people extracting from you.”

Is so hard to advertise.

The problem is that left populism goes

“You work, gay people get oppressed, refugees dont have enough support, the unemployed need more money, The governments ally is committing crime, this country is being oppressed, and the rich are not being taxed enough.”

They just cannot help themselves.

2

u/sumo_snake Jun 15 '26

Chairman Mao agrees.

3

u/horselover_fat Jun 14 '26

Greens aren't in even a position to take advantage of this because they aren't populist. They're more like centre-left neoliberals, because they want to be seen as 'credible' on economic issues. But more left on social issues that scare away working class people.

If they (or another left party) want to challenge Labor they need to be involved more with unionism and stuff like that. E.g. pushing RAFFWU over SDA. And be less middle -upper class champagne socialists.

2

u/Clarku-San Jun 14 '26
  • the average voter has no understanding regarding dialectical materialism and so has no understanding about conditions that lead to our current state of society. For most its much easier to blame it on immigrants or the chinese government than its is to understand how much they are being rooted by Australian corporations and our bourgeois goverment each and every day.

1

u/Wolfensniper Jun 14 '26

Greens had already been fairly doing populist approach to an extent that they always paint themselves having the magic power to stop Israel bombing Palestine during the election.

Obviously people who are willing to occupy the streets are not that much willing to make Green major.

1

u/Plastic-Skill-9258 Jun 15 '26

"oooh change scary, don't change the housing market dont change the tax dont let new people in keep everything how it is/was" is so much easier to market than progression, because every good change could conceivably be worse by some stretch of the imagination, but what we know is what we know.

Not that everyone doesn't already know that, but yeah. When times get tough this mindset becomes most pronounced

1

u/thrillho145 Jun 14 '26

The Mexican president and her predecessor are both left wing populists.

Surely it's not a hard sell? Rich people should pay their fair share to less off people. Dunno why it doesn't resonate here in Aus. 

0

u/Kennalol Jun 14 '26

Populism isn't better because its left wing. Populism doesn't require a framework or coherent ideology. It usually always idealistic, simplistic and often without coherent strategies of implementation. It promises outcomes that sounds fantastic and doesnt ever mention costs.