SA Best leader Nick Xenophon entering self-imposed political exile

DEFEATED SA Best leader Nick Xenophon will banish himself into political exile for at least the next few months as the former publicity hound leaves the limelight to the party’s new MPs.

SA Best leader Nick Xenophon and the party's newly elected members of the Legislative Council, Connie Bonaros and Frank Pangallo. Picture: Mike Burton

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DEFEATED SA Best leader Nick Xenophon will banish himself to political exile for at least the next few months as the former publicity hound leaves the limelight to the party’s new MPs.

Ousted from Australian parliaments for the first time in more than 20 years, Mr Xenophon will remain in Adelaide, living off savings and his Paradise-based legal practice.

But it is understood he will not make public comments for some months, at least, as he assesses his political and professional future.

Instead, he is likely to take a holiday for the first time since 1990 and spend time with his family, particularly his Adelaide-based parents.

Mr Xenophon was defeated in the eastern Adelaide seat of Hartley at Saturday’s state election, despite opinion polls showing him as preferred premier as late as a fortnight before voting day. It is the first time the former senator and legislative councillor has not been a parliamentary representative since he was elected to the state’s upper house in October, 1997.

Two SA Best candidates, Connie Bonaros and Frank Pangallo, were elected to the upper house at Saturday’s election, while the party attracted 13.7 per cent of the statewide lower house vote — but none of 36 candidates were elected.

It is understood Mr Xenophon intends to remain politically active, by seeking to meet with an Indian anti-corruption MP and his hero, Californian Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown.

Governor since 2011, Mr Brown has been elected four times in two stints — firstly in 1974 and, most recently, in 2014 for a historic fourth term.

Mr Xenophon’s decision to enter self-imposed exile runs counter to his reputation as a veteran political stuntman, renowned for drawing attention to MPs’ perks and other issues.

But it is likely he also is seeking to avoid any backlash to the party’s election performance, perhaps including candidates upset at paying a $20,000 campaign deposit.

Consideration is being given to making Mr Xenophon president of SA Best and the party’s federal arm, the Nick Xenophon Team. The latter has two senators, Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick, along with Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie.

After Mr Xenophon’s Hartley defeat, anti-gambling campaigner and World Vision Australia’s chief advocate Tim Costello declared his friend “one of Australia’s finest politicians of his generation” and said he hoped his absence from public life would be “a temporary interruption”.

“ I hope everyone will give him some space to recharge his batteries and, also, reflect on his remarkable achievements across a range of policy areas and political processes,” Reverend Costello said.