I'm on a mailing list for Claudia and got this today. Kind of funny since last week the Democrats tried kicking de la Cruz off of the Georgia ballot.

  • keepcarrot [she/her]
    ·
    3 months ago

    CPA doesn't really do electoral entryism (and is probably the most hexbear approved Australian communist party). Socialist Alliance (ex-trots) do earnestly run for government sometimes, but are part of a gaggle of minor parties whose preferential votes disappear often, though they've gotten to city council.

    This is just based on my local experience of being around them and volunteering, I haven't gotten into a discussion about their paths to power. There's a tacit acknowledgement that a dozen part time nerds is probably not changing much so while they occasionally scoff at each other, there's also a lot of cross-pollination and protests etc organised between them (and a few others).

    Electorally, both of their voters generally wind up preferencing the greens, which are a big tent left party with the occasional embarrassing Malthusian, or Labor which is a blairite shit pit with the occasional left radical member.

    Recently, the Australian electoral rules changed which increased the requirements for a party to be on the ballot, but I actually don't see that changing much in terms of actual electoral results.

    I think realistically Australia is going to be one of the last countries with a population over 10 million to go red, despite the efforts of my comrades. Wealthy, high minimum wages, white settler nationalism very strong, most rabid antiCPC reflex etc.

    I did meet a Cuban delegation through the CPA and Socialist Alliance, which was nice.

    • Cowbee [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      3 months ago

      Oh, thanks! Genuinely was unfamiliar with the Aussie labor movement, so this is super helpful. Thanks comrade! heart-sickle

      And yea, didn't figure they did entryism either, haha.

      • keepcarrot [she/her]
        ·
        3 months ago

        Australia has figured out that having a high minimum wage and permanent (if low) welfare predicated on spamming job applications, and public healthcare tamps down the political radicalism a lot, while all the same being a rabid dog for US foreign policy, landlords bring the main class in parliament, and the majority of news viewership being Fox News or Fox News lite (or the state run one).

        Not bulletproof by any stretch, but seeing turnout at rallies, let alone active political participation regularly between big events is kinda depressing. Also talking to a lot of working class people and their whole-swallowing of nationalism. Your landlord is fucking you over right now, but at least he isn't the Chinese Communist Party. The Loony Left wants windmills which will cause power outages. Gender.

        • SkingradGuard [he/him, comrade/them]
          ·
          3 months ago

          Your landlord is fucking you over right now, but at least he isn't the Chinese Communist Party. The Loony Left wants windmills which will cause power outages. Gender.

          I hate living in an angloid country with these culture war nonsense coming out of literally everyone's mouths yes-honey-left