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more from Tea Party ideology. The Republicans seemed unable to
decide the level of conservatism they would bring to the election,
and many political commentators attributed their defeat to their
lack of a coherent and focussed vision.
7
However, it would be unwise to conclude too much from the
politics of the
US
, which is, after all, a different system to that of
Australia. It is more crucial for
US
parties to have a clear vision
encompassing their values as they must not only convince people to
vote for them, they must convince them to turn up in the first place.
Citizens in the
US
must
want
to vote for a particular party, whereas
in Australia, all
must
vote; hence, the ‘lesser of two evils’ political
strategy. Having a narrative, therefore, is less important in Australia,
as the parties do not have to drive people to turn up at the poll booth.
Indeed, having clear values embodied in a vision can disillusion a
significant part of the moderate swinging middle and cost you the
majority. This explains why the two major parties have little in way
of a narrative for the future of Australia. So, while there are
differences between the two countries in terms of the general need
for a party narrative, the support among young people for Obama,
the Greens, the
AYCC
, and other organisations demonstrates that
an optimistic vision can engage young people in the political sphere.
Then again, lack of a political narrative is not the only reason that
young people are generally disengaged with Australia’s politics,
though it is a considerably important one. Lack of a significantly
detailed civics education in schooling years is also a factor. It is not
that young people do not care about political issues – more often,
it’s that politics seems like an impenetrable world of jargon and
historical knowledge. The major parties’ inability to keep up with
the ‘digital age’ is also considered to be contributing to youth
disillusionment with politics. Since the launch of
OurSay
in 2010, an
organisation that connects voters directly with politicians through
social media, many young voters have debated and discussed issues
with our political leaders – including Prime Minister Julia Gillard –
on Facebook and other social networking sites. Tellingly,
OurSay’s
membership, like the
AYCC
, has already surpassed the
ALP
’s.
8
In
little over two years.
Nonetheless, constructing a coherent narrative to connect
seemingly arbitrary policies is the most considerable means by
which Australia’s political parties can engage younger voters. A
Major
Australian
Political
Parties Need
A Vision For
The Future
In Order To
Engage Young
Voters.
Discuss.
12
7
Harold Evans,
‘And, after all that
jostling, the winner is…
discord’,
The Age
, November 3,
2012
8
Michael Short,
‘Voters have the chance
to swing the nation in
the right direction’,
The
Age
, April 14, 2013