The United Kingdom, political capital Canberra

Nearly 17,000 kilometers separate London from both Sydney and Melbourne, but the political distance is much shorter. Not only because the parliamentary models of the two countries are very similar (Australia's is known as washingminster a cross between Washington and Westminster with much more of the latter), but above all because both British Labor and Conservatives look to the country of the antipodes in search of trends, ideas and inspiration.

When the tories were in opposition obscurity at the turn of the millennium, they fell into the hands of Australian strategist Lynton Crosby, nicknamed and mage of oz to regain power. He was the man who had overseen the successful federal election campaigns of 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2004, and made John Howard's government the second longest-lasting in the nation's history. Well connected to America's Republicans, he imported a style of highly negative campaigning, a forerunner of today's culture wars, exploiting nationalist and tribal attitudes such as outright rejection of immigration, and seeing outsiders as a threat to jobs, the well-being, access to services and identity. The principle was to seek the support of socially conservative voters, even if economically they are more progressive.

His record in Britain was not as triumphant as in Australia, losing to the tories the 2005 elections. But he orchestrated the victories of Boris Johnson in the London mayoral elections in 2008 and 2012, and the Conservative Party in the general elections of 2015 and 2017, without being able to prevent in between that the Labor party Sadiq Khan triumphed in the municipal elections of the English capital. The relief was taken by his pupil and compatriot Isaac Levido, architect of the absolute majority of 2019 under the banner of "let's make Brexit a reality." He remains the chief adviser to current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in his difficult bid to stay in Downing Street on promises to reduce illegal immigration, inflation, healthcare queues and public debt, and restore economic growth. . Almost nothing.

Blair was inspired by Australian Labor for his third way, and the 'Tories' have copied immigration policy

Australia is the model from which the Conservatives have modeled their immigration policy of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda and potentially other countries, and their internment on barges in the meantime. An imitation of what the Canberra government did for a long time, sending immigrants to Papua New Guinea and the island of Nauru in Micronesia, with serious physical and psychological consequences for those affected.

"Settlement in Australia will never be an option for anyone trying to arrive illegally by boat," was the country's official policy. “Settlement in the UK cannot be an option for those arriving by small boat on illegal routes,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is now saying in his bid to reduce the number of asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats. , and that the system has completely collapsed, living in hotels while their cases are processed (a process that lasts even years). London even declares itself willing to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and ignore the sentences of the European courts.

Labor looks at the result of the last Australian elections, in which Anthony Albanese defeated the conservative Scott Morrison. His profile is not very far from that of Keir Starmer, the candidate to occupy Downing Street, that of a leader without particular charisma who won by not scaring voters with radical ideas, not taking risks and not making big promises in economic matters. and tax. Support from women, youth and concern about climate change were decisive factors, and UK Labor is confident three-quarters of the same will happen here. Still his victory was not landslide, and right-wing populism is still alive and well.

An Australian is Sunak's electoral strategist, and Labor Keir Starmer copies Albanese's tactic

Morrison's defeat in Australia was a blow to Rupert Murdoch's media group, which controls major daily newspapers in major cities and campaigned fiercely against Labour. The communications magnate's hand also reaches Britain, where he owns the influential the sun , The Times and the sun dayTimes and he does not hide his sympathy for Brexit, although his diaries never favored a break with Europe in as visceral a way as the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph .

But before David Cameron, the first British political leader to take out the telescope and focus it on Australia was Tony Blair, who was inspired by the firsts Paul Keating and Bob Hawke for his third way. In politics, seventeen thousand kilometers is nothing.