They even sneer at the very term “populism”, which I take simply to mean a system whereby the elected, broadly speaking, do the will of the people.

These days, keeping the punters in the dark is a serious business for the political class in liberal democracies.

NON-NEGOTIABLE

Perhaps it always was, but I don’t think so. There once was a noble profession of “public service”, a recognition that we-the-people were ultimately in charge, and that the social contract underpinning representation and political obligation was non-negotiable.

The modern UniParty politician has three main priorities in life.

First, to line their pockets during and after their parliamentary stint.

Second, to do service to the bureaucratic machine. The second helps with the first.

And third, to obey the ideological diktats of their globalist masters. Think world government, supranational corporatism, climate change, pandemic planning and execution, manufactured wars, digital tyranny, surveillance capitalism, disappearing rights and open borders.

There are two main ways in which the political class seek to execute their core business of keeping us in the dark.

One is the memory holing of their crimes and misdemeanours. The other is the creation of endless distractions, as per Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World playbook.

Former Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen used to “feed the chooks”, aka the journalist class, with bullshit.

But now, post-Joh, many of the chooks don’t need to be fed. Though they still are.

The journalist class, certainly those busy managing upwards in the legacy media, are now part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

Just look at some of the biggest stories of Australian politics during the past weeks.

A post-Bondi Royal Commission that is a classic case of memory holing. A refusal to interrogate anti-Semites while giving those same anti-Semites legal standing and the privilege of cross examination. A case of “look over there” and following the script.

Then we had a Governor General intervening in the case of millionaire footy players (well, AFL players) allegedly engaging lap dancers in a Pullman (no less) hotel room, and adding (apparently) a little cocaine to the equation.

A scene that had a little of everything, including (again, apparently) an invocation of Albo’s recent public contributions on sexual morality.

You might even say that Albo was there in spirit, with the alcohol and coke addled “elite” sportsmen and the harassed lap dancers.

But the Governor General?

“Adding her voice”, as the unserious, Labor sports fanatic Annika Wells called it. Yes, that Annika Wells. She of the free tickets and flights to AFL finals for her family.

GG Sam Mostyn, an activist of old, saw the opportunity to make a rare splash on one her favourite topics.

It must be boring for a political activist used to just signing off on legislation and giving speeches that nobody reads. Hence, coming to the aid of the lap dancer class.

Also, we had Melongate itself. A prime minister who said he would shag Kylie. Who would appear on podcasts with unserious actors and engage in unserious distractions.

SHAGGING

Not content with shagging the 80s pop princess, we had a pretty unserious approach to foreign affairs.

Then, we have gotcha questions from the media for Pauline Hanson on the identity of foreign leaders. Really?

Of course, Pauline Hanson is herself the big source of distraction for the political class. The ultimate look over there.

Its motives are obvious. One Nation is the biggest threat to the establishment Australia has ever seen. It has to be seen off.

The “look over there” assertions have been equally obvious. She is dangerous. Her Party isn’t democratic and bottom-up. She isn’t ready to govern. She will be the cause of a third Albo term of office. One Nation will split the vote.

The latest to employ this shallow and obtuse line of non-reasoning is, surprisingly, The Australian newspaper columnist Henry Ergas.

Perhaps he, too, is now managing up to his establishment paymasters at The Australian. It is, of course, ironic that someone should regard “authenticity” as downside.

There is a pattern here, among the swirling distractions, both natural and politically engineered – they seek to keep low-information voters trapped in their bubbles.

The governing class is aided and abetted in its efforts by the coming of smart phones and social media, themselves an endless and portable distraction from the serious things of life.

Achieving their con takes some serious work – and the shenanigans of tedious footballers can take the eyes of the electorate off the massive threats to our way of life that we now face.

They are, in no particular order:-

• A trillion-dollar public debt;
• A totally broken electoral system which disenfranchises a third of the population;
• An energy crisis;
• Public policy being made by a rancid combo of ideologues and fools;
• An out-of-control education system that spits out clueless Leftist children;
• The successful attacks on our history and on our once great culture;
• Corporates out to ruin the lives of their employees by giving in to the feminists that run HR departments;
• Broken trust in all of our critical institutions.

There is not the slightest evidence that anyone in or near office gets it.

In all the Western world, only Tony Abbott achieved success over Islamic people smugglers.