Labor’s Kristina Keneally described as ‘delusional’ for blaming Fowler loss on lockdowns

Kristina Keneally suffered an embarrassing defeat at the polls, but extraordinary claims blaming lockdowns for her loss have been rubbished online.

Labor’s Kristina Keneally has faced an intense backlash after blaming “harsh” lockdowns as the reason for her embarrassing election loss, with her comments labelled as “completely delusional”.

In the lead up to the election, Ms Keneally was controversially “parachuted” into what was considered the safe Sydney seat of Fowler, as it had never been held by anyone other than Labor.

As a “captain’s pick” candidate, it was thought Ms Keneally couldn’t lose, with Labor pushing aside a local candidate in the process.

But the former Labor senator lost the southwestern Sydney seat of Fowler to independent Dai Le and controversially pointed to Covid and its impact as the “most important factor” for the blistering defeat.

“Fowler had the harshest and longest lockdowns in the state, supported by both Liberal and Labor, and there was an understandable sense of anger at both major parties, with people reacting with “a pox on both your houses”,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Kristina Keneally. Picture: Britta Campion / The Australian

She also blamed Clive Palmer for “bankrolling” the United Australia Party (UAP), which she said drove down major party primary votes and deprived the major parties of Senate seats and preferences in lower house seats.

But her reasons for the loss have been rubbished on social media.

Former Labor leader and now NSW One Nation boss Mark Latham described Ms Keneally’s claims as “narcissistic on steroids”.

“Kristina Keneally blaming the NSW Liberal Govt lockdowns and the UAP for her loss in Fowler,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Yet in neighbouring McMahon, also in Lockdown LGAs, the Labor primary vote increased by 1.5%. Keneally’s primary crashed by 18.6%. Completely delusional. Narcissistic on steroids.”

Kristina Keneally blaming the NSW Liberal Govt lockdowns and the UAP for her loss in Fowler.
Yet in neighbouring McMahon, also in Lockdown LGAs, the Labor primary vote increased by 1.5%.
Keneally’s primary crashed by 18.6%.
Completely delusional.
Narcissistic on steroids. https://t.co/us00Pr8RVj

— Real Mark Latham (@RealMarkLatham) May 28, 2022

Another Twitter user said Ms Keneally’s ignorance” was “breathtaking”.

“She claims losing Labor’s safe seat of Fowler had nothing to do with her, it was resentment over Covid lockdowns,” they said.

“If that was true, why didn’t Labor lose all its western Sydney seats?”

Others agreed with the sentiment, with one pointing out that most of western Sydney experienced harsh lockdowns rather than just one electorate.

“She also says Clive Palmer deprived the major parties of preferences, which is a very silly thing to say given preferences are compulsory,” they wrote.

“And she also says she chose to move to the lower house, does she forget we actually saw the factional fighting in public and that she was pushed to the third unwinnable spot on the senate ticket for Labor? Does she think we’re stupid?”

Oh was she running in Melbourne pic.twitter.com/CJ3KJ3NIgD

— dan nolan (@dannolan) May 28, 2022

Refugee advocate Shane Bazzi described Ms Keneally’s controversial election loss defence as “shameless”.

Keneally has learnt absolutely nothing, blaming lockdowns for her loss in Fowler, rather than accepting that it’s because she was a rich white woman from Scotland Island parachuted in. She is shameless. Tu Le would have won. https://t.co/iymmefYrQ0pic.twitter.com/Ar6wQQ8CF2

— Shane Bazzi (@shanebazzi) May 28, 2022

Ms Keneally, who moved from her lavish home on Scotland Island on the city’s northern beaches to Liverpool during the campaign, added she had no regrets about taking the “risk” to leave the Senate and running for the seat of Fowler, despite her bruising defeat.

She said she wasn’t “happy or satisfied” in her three years in the Senate and thought a move to the lower house would be where she could make her “best contribution”.

When pressed by journalist Peter FitzSimons on whether the actual problem for her loss centred around the fact she was a “wealthy white woman” parachuted from “distant pasts” running against De who was a “real member of the local community”, Ms Keneally doubled down on the impact of lockdowns as the reason.

“Those harsh lockdowns engendered an understandable sense of parochialism that the community had been left behind by both major political parties,” she added.

“And I genuinely believe that whether the Labor Party ran me or anyone else in Fowler, they would have encountered the same set of challenges.”

Independent candidate Dai Le won the seat of Fowler. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Social media users hit out describing her attitude as lacking “accountability” and said voters wanted local representation.

One said Ms Keneally’s reasons were “just wrong”.

“You lost because you expected a community that your not from to back you, stepping over a local candidate who was well liked & part of that community,” he said.

“The time of parachuting politics is over. Voters want real, local representation. Tu Le would have won.”

“As much as I admire KK Being parachuted into a seat over a popular local candidate was the driver for her loss. Nothing else,” another noted.

“Wow! And still no accountability or acknowledgment that a rich white woman standing in an area she has no knowledge about was a disgraceful move and that locals voted accordingly,” one person added.

Western Sydney lawyer Tu Le was booted from the position to make way for Ms Keneally. Picture: Facebook

Ms Le, the local Labor candidate who was shoved aside so Ms Keneally could run, has said she was “shocked” by the result.

The seat of Fowler was called on Saturday night, but Ms Keneally waited until Sunday night to formally concede defeat.

Ms Keneally said she had spoken to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after her defeat, but he had not promised her any future appointments.

Mr Albanese told Sky News on Sunday that the Labor Party is closely examining what went wrong in the seat of Fowler.

“You have to learn lessons from an outcome like that — I think the lessons are very clear that the community sent a message,” he said.

“Kristina Keneally is a big loss to our team, she was a valued friend, she was the deputy senate leader, and it is a loss, but you have to accept outcomes in democratic processes.

“But you also have to learn from them and we will take note of the lessons which are there.”

Originally published as Labor’s Kristina Keneally described as ‘delusional’ for blaming Fowler loss on lockdowns