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| Pic courtesy ABC |
This post is a follow up to my last one (Dirty Tricks - 24th October 2020) .
Now that the state election is done and dusted, it's a good time to reflect on Palmer's activity, and the result.
His intention was apparently to ensure that Labor wasn't returned to government. To put it mildly, that has backfired spectacularly.
He spent, according to reports, $83 million dollars in his efforts to smear Labor. His message was clear and simple, and entirely negative. Often, negative advertising is quite effective, especially when this much cash is thrown at it. In this case, it seems to have been completely useless.
Full page advertisements in all the syndicated local papers up and down the coast, blanket Youtube ads featuring his wife, and unsolicited SMS messages were thrown at everybody with abandon.
In my case, I contacted Mineralogy, the source of the messages, according to the accompanying blurb, and requested that my phone number be removed from the UAP's database, to no avail.
The person who answered the phone promised apologetically to meet my request, but the messages kept coming.
This arrogance is probably a large part of the reason his campaign fell flat. Queensland voters aren't stupid. Most people object to their personal information being used without consent, and this probably got many people offside.
The Youtube ads featuring his wife were also probably counter productive. In my case, looking at her face as she read the cue board in wooden fashion, the only emotion elicited was sympathy. Apparently, the voters of Currumbin (where she was a candidate) had much the same reaction.
Palmer is the closest thing in this country corresponding to the US PAC phenomenon , and it's gratifying to see that Queenslanders, at least, aren't impressed.
Clive has learned (the hard way) that in this country, at least, democracy can't be bought and sold.
The media, especially the syndacted local papers have gleefully pocketed the $83 million. It might keep them afloat for a while longer.
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