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Article: Where can the liberals go? It is not only the ALP that is in trouble. The Liberal Party is dying as a genuine social institution and it has little interest in genuine liberalism. Liberals may end up as far afield as the Greens in their search for a political expression of their values.
- Article from:
- Arena Magazine
- Article date:
- August 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Arena Printing and Publications Pty. Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Australian Liberal Party is in a bad way. Bad not just because it is languishing in opposition in all six States, which should concern anyone who wants politics to be competitive. What's worse is that its only election victories, in the last two federal polls, have been won on the back of policies that most educated Australians (those dreaded elites!) regard as, at best, opportunistic and morally questionable.
The usual explanation for what is going on is that there is a conflict within the Liberal Party between Left and Right (or between liberals and conservatives), and that in recent years the Right (the conservatives) have gained the ascendancy. At best, ...