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Dear Graham,

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I understand where you are coming from.

Indeed, I think there are as many arguments for as there are against the Trump factor as the cause of the unexpectedly huge swing vote in favour of Labor.

But Trump is the big game changer, in my view. He succeeded in tearing America apart in the first 100 days of his second term as no other president has ever done before, and the shock waves have affected every other country in the world.

Some have been engulfed by it. Others have been repulsed.

It has boosted the political career of some and ruined that of others – Albanese among the former and Dutton among the latter.

Perhaps their fate may have been reversed if Trump had not upset the apple cart as he did.

It's a pity he is what he is, and not a Ned Kelly.

Things might have been a bit different ...

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Graham,

Sitting far out in right field like you are, among the thorns and nettles of defeat, you may be getting a distorted view of reality. Put simply, Canadians voted for the incumbent because he was willing to tell Trump to 'F" off. In Pommy land the voters were just pissed off with the total incompetence of the Tory's in government.

Trump with his tariff antics etc certainly didn't win anyone friends in Australia, maybe a couple of old blokes on this forum. Take one look at the result for the Trumpet Of Failure Party, about 2% of the popular vote. Then again Fat Clive is about as popular with voters as ants at a picnic, despite trying to hide behind the blond "party Leader" woman, whose face was on the telly every 5 minutes, and a $60m campaign, her personal vote in Hunter was 3.5%.

As for Dutton and the Coalition, Trumpism and their association with it, despite trying at a late stage to distance themselves from it, some of the mud stuck, and it proved to be just another nail in the coffin for the sorry bunch. Housing and energy were the big two factors, but not the only factors, and Labor in the voters minds was more creditable on the majority of issues.