Reasons Why ALP Is Now Doomed

The ALP is now doomed whether it forms a minority government or not, and will lose major party status within the next decade. It is doomed because it no longer has any apparent clear coherent political conviction to anchor it, rendering the ALP ideologically empty. As such it will slide to obscurity as its current 'rusted on support base' dies out. This is the consequence of two interrelated damaging factors, one relatively recent, the other essentially an historical flaw in the ALP's own constitution. The former is the transformation over the last thirty years of ALP politicians into purely careerist professionals, their primary goal being power purely to serve their self interest and quest for celebrity status. The latter is the 'pledge' - wherein all must adhere to the 'Party Line' regardless of individual ideological differences or political conviction. These two factors are interrelated in terms of damage. As careerist politicians have increasingly taken power within the party, the pledge is used not as a means of forging unity, but to silence any who disagree with the pursuit of opportunistic poll driven objectives that would betray what's left of the ALP's original ideological principles. The ALP's only hope now would be to abandon forced obedience to the 'Party Line', but this in turn would only see the ALP disintegrate into a number of bickering hostile minor parties. Either way, the ALP is doomed to history's dustbin.

Dr Ivan Molloy
Director, Politics International
Peregian Beach
23 August 2010

Permanent Link: Reasons Why ALP Is Now Doomed
Publish Date: 23 Aug 10