Pixelated Semantics

History never stops repeating

The Liberal Party of Australia has another branch-stacking situation developing, raising parallels with the "ugly" period of right-wing extremists stacking branches in the 70's and 80's. With a sense of deja vu that is unacknowledged by the reports, this time there are apparently "Lebanese Catholics recruited to the Liberal Party by the Christian right" who "allegedly flashed pistols to intimidate opponents" while "spearheading an attempt by the Christian right to win control of preselections for federal and state seats". Previous documented stackings involved ethnic Croats and Serbs, in some cases neo-Nazis and known fascists, whose actions ensured extreme right wing control of the Liberals in NSW for extended periods. Though the SMH cutely describes Liberal Party stacking as "rife", the report lacks an historical perspective that would frame the events as a pattern rather than aberration. As further collateral, there is a 2004 report of Opus Dei "stacking" the Randwick-Coogee branch of the Young Liberals, apparently without any concern for the ethical considerations inherent.

Item posted by AutoEditor at 3:23 pm ::