South Australia and Tasmania
Mar. 21st, 2010 07:29 pmLooks like Labor's just managed to hold on to power in South Australia, while Tasmania could see a Liberal minority government with the Greens holding the balance of power. Probably the best possible outcome - like every other state government at the moment, the SA government needed a wakeup call, but the Liberals seem unable to make a positive case for change. And Atkinson has stepped down as Attorney-General, removing the main strike I see against the SA government - hopefully his replacement will be an improvement.
Tasmania saw a big swing towards the Greens, which is always nice to see -though as most commentators have pointed out, it's probably more of a protest vote than an actual swing towards them. Still, it shows the Greens are getting more respect as a legitimate option and not dismissed as a fringe party.
I really don't think one can draw any conclusions about federal politics from this. I suspect we'll see a swing against Labor in the federal election, but nothing on the scale we're seeing here. Of course, Abbott seems erratic enough it's hard to predict where the coalition will be when the election's called.
Tasmania saw a big swing towards the Greens, which is always nice to see -though as most commentators have pointed out, it's probably more of a protest vote than an actual swing towards them. Still, it shows the Greens are getting more respect as a legitimate option and not dismissed as a fringe party.
I really don't think one can draw any conclusions about federal politics from this. I suspect we'll see a swing against Labor in the federal election, but nothing on the scale we're seeing here. Of course, Abbott seems erratic enough it's hard to predict where the coalition will be when the election's called.