Australia isn't America and Dutton isn't Trump

Framing his tactics as "Trumpism" flatters Peter Dutton and hides the strengths of our own political system

It is noticeable that our media is filling up with regular stories framed around the idea that “Trumpism” is finding its way into Australian politics, and I’m coming to the view that, as a form of political analysis, the appraoch does more harm than good. I don’t like it, as someone relevant to this conversation once said in another context.

Pauline Hanson fever dream

It’s not that there aren’t obvious parallels between what Trump and Dutton are doing. And it’s not as if there aren’t long term interactions between Australia politicians and their counterparts in the US (and other political operatives): both our major parties have been making a beeline to gatherings like the Australia-America Leadership Dialogue for decades, for instance.

But calling what Dutton is doing “Trumpism” forecloses on a more useful analysis.¹

This recent piece in The Saturday Paper is worth a look, for both its strengths and its weaknesses, as an example of why I’m having misgivings about Australian media using th…