Wooley: As you go to the polls remember, candidates should have you as their number one priority

As you head off to vote, keep in mind, that no matter what team candidates are playing for, they need to be on your team, writes Charles Wooley

Painting 'The Death of Caesar' (Morte di Cesare) by Vincenzo Camuccini, circa 1798. This tragic event, which often prompts the recalling of the famous Shakespearean quote, “Beware the Ides of March” makes the timing of a March election an odd choice, according to Charles Wooley

We are a week past the Ides of March, the 15th of this month in 44BC when Julius Caesar was assassinated by both friends and enemies. In his famous play, Shakespeare had Julius Caesar advised by a soothsayer, “Beware the Ides of March”. Caesar really should have stayed away from the Senate that day, but he was set on bringing down the Republic and installing himself as dictator.

The senators made a job of it, stabbing him by many accounts up to 23 times in the rotunda. A very painful spot I believe.

And forever afterwards in politics the Ides of March was not considered a favourable time for any matters of statesmanship and certainly inauspicious for holding an election.

A week later who knows? I’ve asked a couple of wise old political heads from both major parties to open a few chooks and inspect the gizzards, but the truth is that no-one knows.

Both my savants expect neither party to gain an absolute majority. Both are former ministers and both despair about the state of our state. The Labor person fears that the party’s lacklustre campaign will fall well short of a majority, telling me: “I fear we might only hold two seats in each electorate.”

The Liberal expects the result to be “a dog’s breakfast”.

While that is uncomplimentary to my dog Dusty, who by the condition of his coat enjoys a simple and nutritious breakfast, the soothsayer might be right.

Painting 'The Death of Caesar' (Morte di Cesare) by Vincenzo Camuccini, circa 1798. This tragic event, which often prompts the recalling of the famous Shakespearean quote, “Beware the Ides of March” makes the timing of a March election an odd choice, according to Charles Wooley.

The Liberal Dirty Tricks Department’s disgraceful scam on the Jacqui Lambie website was of great concern. “That was unbelievably stupid, and I don’t know who was silly enough to do it. But it might be very harmful,” my conservative source said.

And that’s what I am hearing all over Lyons, from the veranda of the Bronte store to the southern beaches of Sorell.

“That’s a mongrel trick,” a high-country cattleman told me.

“I never had a really high regard for her because I didn’t know what she stood for. But now she’s got my vote.

“And come to think of it, I never really understood what the others are standing for anyway.”

I do hope you know this election day you have been sold a bill of goods. In this lower house contest, there are no limits on expenditure, with many candidates investing as much as $100,000 to get elected or not elected.

You will never know. In some cases, if successful that sum is almost as much as their first-year after-tax earnings.

Who paid for them to get elected? If it wasn’t their own money, then to whom do they owe loyalty?

Possibly not to you.

Senator Jacqui Lambie accused the Tasmanian Liberal Party of employing “dirty tricks” in the lead up to the state election. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

There is a good case for banning paid advertising. You should be angry about some people simply buying a seat in your parliament.

Even if you will never know for sure, look around. It’s obvious.

You might have also expected people to be upset about the Liberal promise (threat more likely) to legislate the expulsion from parliament of MPs who quit the party.

I am old-fashioned enough to want to believe that no matter who pays your enormous electoral expenses your first loyalty should be not to the party but to the people who elected you. If as an elected MP you believe the party is behaving in an unconscionable manner, then you have every right to sit on the crossbenches. The voters will judge you at the next election.

It may be better not to switch parties.

But who knows?

The present government has been calling their constitutional arrogance “a stability clause”. The worst things are always given the most anodyne names, just as the invasion of Ukraine was merely “a special military operation”.

In a bold move, Attorney-General Guy Barnett says if re-elected the Liberals will legislate to force MPs who quit their party mid-term to resign from parliament. Picture: Stephanie Dalton

Attorney-General Guy Barnett said that his special operation on the Electoral Act would be drafted “in a way which is practical, workable and consistent with the principles of representative democracy”.

But in the highest ideals of democracy your member of parliament is meant to represent you. Their first responsibility is to the voters who put them there.

That’s actually the essence of “representative democracy”.

The alternative proposed now is “delegatory democracy” where your member is first and foremost the delegate of a party.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, overwhelmingly re-elected this week with stacked votes and the opposition either prohibited or in jail or dead, might have approved of Mr Barnett’s legislation.

But of course, Vlad wouldn’t bother with such legislative niceties. He would merely invite dissenters into the Kremlin for a cup of tea.

And that, kiddies, is why we must protect the integrity of our representatives no matter what team they are playing for. In the end they have to be on your team.

I have rattled around the world for a long time, in good places and in bad. Long enough to conclude that flawed as it is, our democracy isn’t the worst form of government.

For it to work best requires only that you select representatives with good minds and good hearts.

It’s that hard.

The wonderful thing about democracy is that only in the dictatorships can you know the result before the votes are cast. Here, no one knows what you are thinking, maybe not even the pollsters. And certainly not me. Good luck.

Charles Wooley is a Tasmania-based journalist