So, this magical thing happened earlier today; I was asked my name, my address and whether or not I had voted at a previous polling booth and then I was given a little green piece of paper and a beautiful long white page and told to make my vote count! It was an almost sure fire thing that the Opposition Leader Mr Tony Abbott would become the next prime minister - it was just a matter of time! Despite the inevitability of this fact, a record number of people postal voted and well as voted before the day had arrived - not that you would even know! Shopping centers were packed and I spoke to people working on different booths and they said it was a constant stream of people all day. It was grass-roots democracy at work, and the excitement in the air was palpable.
Now I must point out the obvious before we go any further as not to do so would indicate nothing has happened which frankly is not true. WE HAVE A NEW PRIME MINISTER!! Exciting for some and horrifying for others Tony Abbott in all his budgie-smuggler-glory will be looking out for the young, old and in-between as the next prime minister of Australia. While left leaning people have uttered the phrase 'if Tony Abbott becomes prime minister I will be leaving the country!' currently I know of only one Husband and Wife following through on this promise - legitimately jet setting to our cousins across the lake in New Zealand! But if you know of others please let me know!!
On social media (Facebook and Twitter) as well as around town there were mixed reviews, people sad for Rudd but victorious about Abbott, with commentators predicting a Labor wipeout and a Coalition landslide with really only the possibility of a few strays - Palmer, Katter, Independents and the Greens. But by golly the voting Australian public delivered on their promise to shake things up! Crazy stuff can happen on Election Day (and subsequent night), and tonight was no different! You learn things about your peers that they try to keep hidden, some for better and some for worse! Closet alleged political know-it-alls come out of the woodwork claiming to have great political insights - most of which are misguided and wrong no matter how articulate they may be. Despite these people being frustrating and clogging up newsfeeds, these individuals are a loved part of the election coverage. Everyone has an opinion, but a word of advice, if you do not agree with them you will be labelled a communist, socialist, fascist or arrogant, but that does not matter. After you have your deep and meaningful conversation with your ballot papers (and possibly a sausage after voting) you comes home, sit on the couch and start to relax as the hard work (for many) is over. Most local bottle-O's would have had a run on all things drinkable and as the night progresses the more you drink (alcoholic or not) the worse off your favoured party must be going... Right? Regardless of your political affiliations, election night is always fun!
As a young person I am in the minority for my generation, I do not enjoy the ritual of late night partaying or clubbing or binge drinking, and yet after my first 'drinking' election I think I have come to enjoy some of the drinking games associated with election night - or maybe not! As the night goes on, and more results come in, political journalists, writers and current politicians join forces to sit on panels feeding the hopelessly politically obsessed information in real time. Add in Twitter and the communication is endless, 140 character bits flood the twitter-sphere at lightening speed discussing the trivial (OMG what is he wearing?!?!) to the raw data (the swing against ......) with people from around the country and the globe wanting to know the details of what has happened!
So far the ALP have retained 53 seats (55*), the L/NP have 87 (91*) the Greens 1 and the so called 'Others' have 2 (3*). Not the Labor wipeout most predicted, but in no way are the ALP in a position to take office once again, and I am only taking into consideration the Lower House, as the Upper House is a whole other kettle of fish - one for coming days ahead! However, the stats we do know include being sure Palmer has made it into the Australian Parliament ensuring the fabulousness of Question Time continues! One thing is certain though, when you wake up tomorrow with a hangover and feeling poorly, our-mate-Kev will be feeling even worse!
*predicted to win
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