One Nation Edges Closer To Collapse Following Dismal Queensland Election Results
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Pauline Hanson's One Nation party suffered a brutal result over the weekend in Queensland's election.
There was a seven percent swing away from the party, which secured only one seat in the Chamber.
While it had only one seat in the last election, the number of votes it managed to get this time round was much less.
Many people are now questioning whether the party is on the brink of collapse after being around the Australian political landscape for more than two decades.
While it certainly wasn't the result that Ms Hanson or her candidates were hoping for, punters are being urged not to anticipate a total dismantling of the party any time soon.
Geoff Cockfield, a political expert at the University of Southern Queensland, told the ABC: "The death of One Nation has been predicted ever since their formation and they have endured way beyond what was expected.
"They didn't have a strong advertising presence during the campaign.
"They didn't have a high-profile candidate; Pauline Hanson was hardly sighted at all.
"Overall, the performance was well down, so their preferences didn't matter so much... and it's very hard for a small party to keep going when their results aren't great."
It's certainly a far cry away from the 11 seats the party commanded in 1998 when the party rode a wave of fervent support.
One Nation chief adviser James Ashby blamed the media for not being fair during the campaign for the party's low turnout.
A former One Nation candidate has revealed why he thinks the party is on the way out, however.
Jim Savage had been a part of the party for 23 years and used to be the state party president, but quit recently and ran as an independent for this election.
He told the ABC: "The reason they've had a collapse is the very reason I left the party. One Nation is a one-person party... it's the Pauline Hanson [party]. She runs the party, and she runs it on her own and she must take full responsibility for its collapse."
Annastacia Palaszczuk's Labor party ended up being victorious for another term in the Queensland election, with many pundits saying her strong border stance during the coronavirus pandemic was a big win with voters.
Featured Image Credit: jfish92 (Creative Commons)
