The elusive X-factor

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Two political insurgencies — in Batman and in South Australia — failed to live up to expectations this weekend. Peter Clarke talks to political scientist Rob Manwaring about why

Peter Clarke & Rob Manwaring 18 March 2018 76 words

Back to the future? Liberal leader Steven Marshall at the party’s election-night party. Tracey Nearmy/AAP Image

Two closely watched elections this weekend have produced unexpectedly straightforward results. Despite high hopes, the Greens suffered a negative swing against a strong Labor candidate in the inner Melbourne seat of Batman, and in South Australia a longstanding Labor government was unseated by the Liberals, with support for Nick Xenophon’s SA-BEST falling well below early expectations. On the morning after, Peter Clarke talks to political scientist Rob Manwaring about what happened and why.

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Peter Clarke is a Melbourne-based webcaster, writer and educator who tweets @MediaActive. Rob Manwaring is a senior lecturer in the School of Social and Policy Studies at Flinders University.

Topics: elections | politics | South Australia