John Birmingham writes that ‘It’s not the voters’ fault, you idiots’ (Brisbane Times, 3.2.15):
The electorate isn’t volatile. Voters aren’t unpredictable. The rules have not changed. If you lie to people, if you promise one thing and deliver its opposite, if you treat public office as your due and the ordinary people who put you there with contempt, they will turn on you. And when they come for you, their vengeance will be swift and terrible to behold.
‘These are not arcane or complex truths. The modern world has not worked some fundamental transformation on politics. This is not about Twitter. If you lose office it’s not because people didn’t understand you. It’s because they understood you all too well.’