A reader’s guide to the US election

Understanding the 2024 election isn’t easy, given the withdrawl of the sitting President and Donald Trump’s promise that if he wins in November, Americans will never have to vote again, so what are the best books and podcasts to make sense of it all?

Biden leaves the stage

Given mounting concern about his prospects of re-election, Joe Biden has withdrawn his candidacy and urged Democrats to back Vice-President Kamala Harris instead.

Should Biden bow out?

Despite his bombastic attempt to overthrow American democracy and a string of criminal convictions, Donald Trump is proving a strong challenger to Joe Biden, so should the ageing President bow out of the campaign?

A history of violence

Political assassination attempts are nothing new, and the bullet which almost took Donald Trump’s life could prove a turning point in the American election.

How the media lost the election

While the Murdoch press campaigned stridently for Morrison, the rest of the media failed to cover the election properly, focusing on meaningless photo-ops with the leaders rather than the issues they didn’t want to talk about – such as climate change, integrity, local concerns and women’s issues.

What now for the Liberal party?

The brash qualities, political nous and single minded aggression which won Scott Morrison his ‘miracle’ victory in 2019 proved liabilities in 2022, and he leaves a party which has abandoned its heartland seats and moral core.

Will the real Labor party stand up?

Australia voted for change despite Labor’s campaign rather than because of it, given Anthony Albanese’s gaffes and insipid appeal to the electorate, so will a minority Labor government with less than a third of the primary vote develop a bolder agenda in power?

Liberals at the crossroads

Scott Morrison’s strategy of abandoning moderate heartland seats, spurning professional women, emphasising wedge issues and infuriating Western Australia has backfired spectacularly, leaving the Liberal party with fundamental questions about its identity after nine years of power.

The fine art and inexact science of Australian politics

After twenty years of squabbling and inaction by both sides of politics, the 2022 election has surely brought the ‘climate wars’ to a close, but both Labor and the Liberals will have new battles to fight in government and opposition.

Forward together

Anthony Albanese is poised to become Australia’s 31st prime minister, and he laid out his vision for his incoming administration in his victory speech on election night in his constituency.

How Albanese crept into power

Though it won just a third of first preference votes, Labor will form a minority government thanks to a strong showing by the teal independents and Greens and Western Australia’s wholesale rejection of Scott Morrison, so how will Albanese govern now?

50 shades of teal

The independent “teal” candidates have shaken up the 2022 Australian election campaign, but there are plenty of idiosyncrasies among these blue-green candidates in socially progressive but liberal held seats.