There will be many post-mortems after the 2019 federal election: Labor on why it lost, the Liberals on why they won, why Queensland rejected Labor so comprehensively and why the Liberals lost Warringah. I worked as a campaign director for Kerryn Phelps last year when she seized the blue-ribbon Liberal seat of Wentworth in a byelection, and then for independent Zali Steggall's historic victory in Warringah at this general election.
To win we had to make sure our message was clear, concise and effective. We would not get a second chance or have the luxury of multiple messages. Our opponents did and it didn’t help them. They thought if they said it often enough it would work, even if it wasn’t true. Consider this: the main message of the Liberal/Advance Australia campaign was if you vote for Steggall you will get Shorten. It was sent to voters repeatedly, stuck on billboards and trucks and sent in text messages ad nauseum.
I suspect if you asked the question "what is in it for me to vote ALP" at focus groups in marginal seats, voters would have struggled to name anything.As for Wentworth, the move back to the centre by the Liberal candidate, David Sharma, with one simple message – "I am a moderate Liberal" – was successful. He studiously avoided the negative campaign that failed so dismally at the byelection. He went positive.
What is her costings for climate change?
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Is this all the Smh can cling to, a victory in Warringah, for all their efforts to roll the LNP. Finished up with a lame duck called Steggall.
Headless chicken. One term wonder who will be punted next election.
How lucky to sit in government say nothing for 3 years and walk away with big $ and lots of free meals bet she wished Tony beat her .people in waringah with RED faces are the ones who voted Tony out ..
Hey Zali, leave the gun, take the cannoli.
she is educated n photogenic instead of ugly Tony
No Victory in Warringah. The Silly Electorate Killed the Wrong Pig. Liberals have the Majority. Zali Now Wields no power,She now can make an Appointment with the Anointed one SCOMO in 3 years Time. They were Better off with Abbott.
The problem with the extensive analysis on the successes of the Steggell campaign is that they ignore the Abbott in the room: it's easier to win when you have an enemy to rally against. Call it what it was, a protest vote against Abbott, not LNP. Why do you think Phelps lost?
Is it because she is breath of fresh air being a European-German-Atheist-Australian instead of the same old European-Anglo-Christian-Australians like Abbott?
Not everyone can run against Abbott and be Abbott-lite.