It’s clear that, whatever the perceived political benefits to the Coalition of its war party rhetoric, the domestic debate is now running in dangerous and uncontrolled directions. Social tensions are manifestly being inflamed for irresponsible reasons. Jingoism can be a dangerous card to play. The burqa farce may seem like an own-goal from a divided and ill-disciplined government. It is that, but it is also a classic case of political opportunism. Playing the Islamic card is textbook Tony Abbott: utterly ruthless and utterly irresponsible. In opposition, Abbott didn’t hesitate to trash public confidence in democratic institutions such as the Parliament, judging that more damage would accrue to the Labor government than the Coalition. So we shouldn’t be surprised that Abbott and his party are only too happy to throw a burning torch onto the bonfire of Australia’s incipient multicultural tensions. And the government is hardly stepping back from the precipice. This morning the Prime Minister was again beating on the drums of war, confirming that air strikes by Australian fighter jets against the Islamic State are about to commence. “Australia is reluctant to reach out to conflicts thousands of miles away, but this conflict has reached out to us,” Abbott said this morning. https://newmatilda/2014/10/03/jingo-abbotts-veiled-threat-blew-his-face
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 06:51:46 +0000