Greens leader Richard Di Natale says the party will form government one day

GREENS leader Richard Di Natale is creating headlines over rumours of a partnership with the Coalition but it’s his turtleneck that has many punters enthralled.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale says the party will lead Australia one day.

GREENS leader Richard Di Natale is creating headlines over rumours of a partnership with the Coalition but it’s his turtleneck that has many punters enthralled.

A photoshoot with men’s magazine GQ went live online at 7am and has sparked comparisons to children’s music groups, hipsters, Steve Jobs and one famous American folk duo.

. @RichardDiNatale in a black skivvie in GQ looks like the new hipster member of The Wiggles https://t.co/tGo91LgQtZ pic.twitter.com/46zuilkm8j

— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) March 8, 2016

the day after you go to your first and only art gallery opening pic.twitter.com/29No2z8UqO

— brad esposito (@braddybb) March 8, 2016

I have genuinely scrolled past this pic of Di Natale in my feed thrice thinking it was Steve Jobs biopic related pic.twitter.com/sOP2ia3jX6

— Gina Rushton (@ginarush) March 8, 2016

The Di Natale turtleneck has a reasonable chance to overtake the Brandis three-tone number as Australia's leading politico-fasion meme

— Ben Peake... still (@reddishraven) March 8, 2016

“Who is Richard di Natale?”
“The tactical turtleneck guy.”“Damn, he is one ice cold mofo. @AlboMP and @tanya_plibersek SHOULD be worried.”

— Jeff Waugh (@jdub) March 8, 2016

Di Natale appears in GQ "wearing Acne, Balenciaga, Christian Louboutin and Hugo Boss". How fancy. #auspol https://t.co/2oYInISB0O

— Shorten_Suite (@Shorten_Suite) March 8, 2016

One tweet simply referenced the famous Simon and Garfunkel song The Sound of Silence:

hello darkness my old friend pic.twitter.com/NuVNtmoNVJ

— Tiger Webb (@tfswebb) March 8, 2016

You can see why:

Notice anything? Simon and Garfunkel in one of their official photos.

But others tried to keep the discussion on topic:

As dorky as Senator Di Natale may look, does it really make sense for people to be judging his politics on the basis of a GQ shoot?

— Rick Eyre (@rickeyre) March 8, 2016

In the interview, the pragmatic new leader of the Greens was asked about his willingness to work with the Liberal Party - a topic that has been of interest in recent days after Labor accused the Greens of cutting a preference deal with the Libs

The former doctor has already taken a very different approach to politics, cutting deals with the Coalition on pension cuts, corporate tax transparency and Senate voting reform — to the anger of Labor and micro parties.

Dr Di Natale told GQ he thought it was just a matter of time before the Greens governed Australia as part of a coalition government.

“Look at Tasmania. At one point the Tasmanian Greens formed government with the Liberal Party,” he said.

“My comment was that at some point in the future we will be a party of government.

“I joined the party when it polled two or three per cent. Over the course of the last 15 years our vote has grown to 10-12 per cent.”

The Liberal Party already shares power with its National Party partners but Dr Di Natale said he did not think the Greens could ever partner with the Liberals as their views are too far apart.

“In my view it’s much more likely that the opportunity to form government rests with Labor, but you should never rule out any possibility [of an alliance with the Liberal Party], though it’s unlikely,” he said.

“‘Never say never’ is the quote I’d use about everything in politics.”

Greens leader Richard di Natale in GQ magazine.

Mr Di Natale’s approach is a world away from former leader Bob Brown’s view, who often talked about “replacing the bastards”, not joining them at the Cabinet table.

“The question of forming a coalition with another party is vexed and people have different views. My own view is that we don’t want to end up like the Nationals Party in a formal, permanent coalition with the Liberal Party — it means giving up on so many issues.

“That’s a different question to whether at some point in time you might enter into power-sharing agreements. That will be a decision for the party to collectively make.”

He acknowledged that some people in his party would rather not do anything with the Liberal Party.

“But it’s my view and the view of my party room, that you have to put the policy first and then the politics looks after itself,” he said.

His comments come as Labor warns that Greens preferences could help the Turnbull government stay in power.

Opposition frontbencher Anthony Albanese said yesterday that a preference deal had been struck between the Greens and the Liberals following an agreement between the two parties in parliament to back changes to the way senators are elected.

“That deal will see Liberals give preferences to the Greens ahead of Labor in Grayndler, Sydney, Melbourne, Batman, and Wills,” he told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

The March/April issue of GQ magazine.

The Greens would run “open tickets” - in which no direction was given on preferences - in the NSW seat of Richmond, and in the Victorian seats of Corangamite, Bruce, Chisholm, McEwen, Deakin and La Trobe, he said.

But Liberal Party federal director Tony Nutt has said there “was no such deal” and Labor had simply invented it.

With polls showing Labor and the coalition running at 50-50 in two-party terms, minor party preferences will be crucial to winning marginal seats.

If the Greens can slip ahead of the Liberals to run second to Labor on primary votes in some tight seats, Liberal preferences could get Greens candidates over the line.

The March/April issue of GQ is on sale Monday, March 14.