Daniel Andrews-Mat Guy - Gap ClosingDaniel Andrews-Mat Guy - Gap Closing

It is up to the women in Victoria

The state election 2022 result on Saturday will be a lot tighter than many would have thought. According to The Age, voters have significantly moved away from Labor in the last few days and the primary vote for both major parties now sit at an equal 36 per cent.

According to the report, an exclusive survey conducted by Resolve Strategic for The Age showed that the gap between the parties has significantly narrowed. While the Labor has come down from 38 per cent to 36, the Liberal/National Coalition vote has moved up from up from 31 per cent to also 36.

That, if converted into votes on Saturday, will still bring back Daniel Andrews, with the help of preferences from the Greens and other minor players in the arena.

The result will thus be a bruised victorious Labor government with a narrower majority, but a Labor government nevertheless.

That, I will argue, should not be taken as complete rejection of the Liberal leader Matthew Guy.

Such a result will be a lot better than 2018 drubbing by the voters. That thus, should instead give him the oxygen and the opportunity to defeat Labor in 2026.

They say ‘a day is a long time in politics’ and I am looking at 2026, which looks like a century away. There are many in his party sharpening their political daggers to ‘knife’ him, should he lose on November 26.

If a miracle happened and the voters, particularly women hate him less than Daniel Andrews (polls suggest they hate both Matthew Guy and Daniel Andrews), Matthew Guy may even do the Anthony Albanese in Victoria.

Also read: Lessons of Renee Heath controversy for Migrant political aspirants

That will be quite a feat for the humble Matthew Guy who, unlike most of the recent Liberal leaders, is not a product of private schools and has not had a career as a lawyer, or architect. He has a humble migrant heritage of Ukrainian descent.

At a recent event (last month), some Labor insider gloated about Matthew Guy being their (Labor’s) biggest ‘asset’ in this election 2022 campaign.

When asked, “Are you suggesting this is a one-horse race?” the answer was an over-confidant (if not arrogant) “yes.”

Well, things do look a little wobbly now for those with thin margins and on number 3, 4 or 5 on the upper house tickets.

The politics in Victoria is changing, so is the voters’ attitude. The more there are minor parties and fringe players in the fray, the more difficult it is going to be run the state with old trusted and tried levers settings.

With many migrant communities trying to Gatecrash into politics as members of major / minor parties and when not pre-selected as desired going as Independents or forming their own parties, it is only a road sign to chaotic state.

Chaotic state? Because times have changed. Today, it is ‘woke’ politics. Twitter handles, Tik Tok and Instagram stories decide political agendas. There seems to be almost no time for time-consuming substantial analyses and debates on policy; it is all for quick fixes.

My only hope is – the new, emerging, deciding group – the women voters.

It is accepted women are better ‘judges’ and they have ‘sixth sense.’ Let us hope they use every tool in their armoury; they can decipher the real from the social media reels, of what is being served up as ‘agenda’ in this election 2022 and deliver the best government in Victoria, come Sunday, November 27.

By Mehta