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.

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.

“The goal for the United Australia Party was to ensure the Labor Government did not get into power,” a UAP spokesperson said, adding “This has been achieved with the collective effort from United Australia Party.”
Still, it’s an interesting boast to make. While Palmer and his crew were vocal in their opposition to Labor in the run-in to the election, the UAP also published stacks of advertising which directly targeted the Coalition itself. That probably doesn’t matter if your votes are eventually siphoned off in their direction, though.
Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek told the ABC News panel that she believed UAP had, in some way, influenced the election through its preference deals.

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.

Well, you’d hope for a seat, really. But if you can’t get that, you may as well suggest your works were instrumental in returning the Coalition to power.

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Source: ABC
Image: Dan Peled / AAP Image