A divisive conference has laid bare the challenges facing conservatives as they grapple with internal tensions ahead of another potential election loss. The annual gathering in Brisbane offered a stark contrast to mainstream Australian politics, with debates centered on culture war issues like gender identity, social liberalism, and conservative identity. High-profile attendees—including senators, media personalities, and a Donald Trump impersonator—delivered a mix of political commentary, humor, and performative displays, from anthem renditions to lighthearted jabs at unemployment. The event underscored the movement’s struggles to reconcile its base with broader public sentiment ahead of a critical political moment.
Preferences proved the sticking point at the conference as conservatives face the prospect of a third successive election defeatGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastMany mainstream Australians would feel as if they’d been dropped in a foreign country at the Conservative Political Action Conference, lost amid oblique references to transgender swimmers, blue hair, women’s bathrooms, jokes about falling off stages and Matt Canavan in hi-vis and speed dealer sunnies.It’s an interesting spectacle. At this year’s conference in Brisbane, rightwing campaigner Monica Smit was deep in conversation with a Donald Trump impersonator, opera singers belted out the national anthem (the first verse, twice, for unknown reasons), senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and her folk singer husband sang the anthem again, and Karl Stefanovic jokingly thanking CPAC for “rudely interrupting my unemployment”.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...
