Australian mobs work it out, but we may be alone

Bob Hawke in his heyday was fond of saying that the people never get it wrong when it comes to elections in this country.

Given that my political mantra for almost five decades has been that “the mob will always work you out”, I think Hawke was right — in Australia at least.

The only exceptions to this are some referendum results where South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia vote against any proposition for fear it might be a mainland east coast plot.

Given the complete mess that Brexit has become in Britain, I’m not sure the same can be said about our Pommy brethren.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has to be admired for her indomitable spirit and true fighting qualities, but the only people she seems to be able to convince about her Brexit plans are in Europe.

You would have to wonder how many times the British parliament has to reject a prime minister’s plans before the PM’s position becomes untenable.

Brexit is an issue that divides Britain right down the middle, and that includes both major parties. Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour opposition is becoming increasingly fractious on this issue and the Tories are deeply split on it as well.

Given Corbyn’s far-Left bent and his occasional anti-Semitic flourish, I am no great fan. He does, however, strike the right note when he suggests that a second referendum on Brexit should be held.

That would be a slap in the face for the blowhard Boris Johnson, who got Britain into this mess and for all practical purposes has disappeared. Sadly, Nigel Farage has not done the same and still makes crazy speeches to anyone dumb enough to listen.

A no-deal Brexit now appears likely, as the time to strike a deal is running out fast. Surely it could have been foreseen that the Europeans would play hardball and make Brexit breathtakingly ­expensive for Britain.

In a second referendum, what do you think would happen if the enormous costs of such an exercise were actually revealed?

Most Brits would simply say that they never knew what was ­really at stake when they voted in the 2016 referendum. Johnson, Farage and company at best skipped lightly over the costs or, at worst, simply lied about them.

With only a matter of days until the deadline for a Brexit deal to be approved, the sad fact is that confusion reigns supreme over what happens next. If Brexit does happen, be it ugly or civilised, there may well be some opportunities for Australia.

Perhaps the Commonwealth countries, so eagerly abandoned by the mother country when there was true desperation about clinging to Europe will once again be treated well. It always irked me to have to stand in an incredibly long queue to get into Britain when the continentals could walk straight through.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Donald Trump continues to rule erratically, and it is getting harder to predict his next step.

His obsession with building that wall remains as strong as ever. On Richo on Sky this week, Stephen Loosley, who seems to have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of American politics (and whose latest informed opinion piece is above my column on this page), explained why Trump does need to build the wall.

Loosley reckons that this was the most visible of his promises, and his fan base would not accept retreat on this issue.

Trump continues to frustrate his foreign service advisers by refusing to read briefs and insisting on conducting serious affairs of state by his gut feeling. I can only guess at the gnashing of teeth among his inner circle at him inviting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to a summit in Vietnam when their first meeting led Trump to cancel war games with the South Koreans while asking the North Korean leader for absolutely nothing in return.

Kim has played Trump off a break. He is uplifted to a serious status when the world’s media film him at the summit with the most powerful man in the world.

Trump’s allies look on stunned and amazed as the North Korean leader is feted without — so far — giving up one nuclear weapon for the privilege of sitting down with the President of the United States.

Sadly, there is not much Trump won’t do for a photo op.