The political headline leading this week’s Court of Public Opinion was a poll result guaranteed to rattle the establishment. According to the Australian Financial Review, Pauline Hanson and One Nation have climbed back to top spot — Hanson once again the preferred prime minister, ahead of Labor and well clear of the Liberals.
Panic In The Back Rooms
Jeremy invited listeners to picture the scene: the corridor meetings, the back-room huddles, the major parties, in his word, terrified. A minor-party leader topping the preferred-PM measure is exactly the sort of result that sends the political class into a spin.
The usual move is to dismiss such numbers as a protest blip. But a return to top spot, reported in a serious financial paper, is far harder to wave away — and Jeremy plainly enjoyed the discomfort it would be causing.
Why It Keeps Happening
His explanation for Hanson’s staying power was one he’s offered many times: authenticity and consistency. Voters have known her for decades and, whatever they make of her, broadly know where she stands. In an age of managed lines and cautious careerists, that plainness cuts through.
This result, he argued, isn’t a fluke but a symptom — a large body of voters who feel the major parties have stopped listening, parking their support somewhere that at least sounds like it means what it says.
An Open Goal
What frustrates Jeremy is how often the majors hand Hanson her openings. The cost-of-living decisions he’s been hammering — fuel relief withdrawn, excise lifted, a “62 cents a day” tax cut — are precisely the grievances that drive disaffected voters toward an outsider.
Every time the government looks like it prioritises its own revenue over households, and every time the opposition fails to prosecute the case, the space for a Hanson widens. Her rebound, in his framing, is the establishment’s own handiwork.
The Verdict Keeps Coming
Jeremy treated the poll as a snapshot, not a prophecy — but an unmistakable one. A substantial share of the electorate is looking past the traditional parties, and doing so consistently enough to put Hanson back on top. Whether it converts to seats is another question; as a reading of the mood, it could hardly be clearer. For a program called the Court of Public Opinion, he noted, the verdict was almost too fitting.
Listen To The Full Episode
Catch the complete Garage edition of The Court of Public Opinion, recorded live around the dining room table.
Watch The Full Episode
The Court of Public Opinion streams live every Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (ACST), right here at jeremycordeaux.com. Download the podcast anytime on your favourite podcast app, and join the conversation with your calls and comments.
