As pundits and punters try to figure out what the hell just happened, one thing is already apparent: there was a big, yellow-branded interloper making a ruckus, and he believes his efforts helped swing the 2019 Federal Election towards the Coalition.
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In a statement obtained by the ABC, Clive Palmer said his United Australia Party (UAP) – which is not projected to earn a single Lower House seat in its own right, despite fielding approximately one billion candidates – amassed enough votes to substantially help the Libs and Nats through preference flow.
.@tanya_plibersek: It’s not the result that we had hoped for in Queensland, obviously. And when you look seat by seat, you see One Nation and Palmer Party preferences flowing to the LNP up there. I think that that’s going to take its toll. #AusVotes2019 #Auspol pic.twitter.com/ieZupk57ys
— ABC News (@abcnews) May 18, 2019
The UAP is currently projected to amass around 3.4% of the vote, which is significant, and what you’d hope for after funneling millions upon millions of dollars into billboards and countless YouTube pre-roll ads.
