The Socialist Alliance - A new force in Australian politics?

Various socialist projects and parties have arisen in Australia particularly since 2017, and such endeavours have experienced varying levels of success.

Famously, the Socialist Party of 2018 led to the government of Bsharri, overseeing implementation of a Constitutional Convention for a republic, before leadership tensions, defections rocked the boat, and eventually an early election spelt doom, and the party merged into the joint left wing project of Labour. There in Labour, after factions divided and split the party, the Socialist movement re-emerged, having 2 PMs in /u/DrunkKingRobert and /u/PM-ME-Sprinkles from May 2019 to July 2019 before inactivity and splits further weakened the party, leading to its eventual collapse by August 2019.

Less successful socialist movements also sprung, such as Bsharri’s Revolutionary Socialists, and notably Matt Monti’s Socialist split from the Social Democratic Party, rose and died without ever being polled.
Most recently, the return to a socialist government under /u/TheSensibleCentre provided Australia with a refresher of life under more radical left wing rule, as the government implemented broad nationalisations and investment in public housing, much of which has been overturned by following conservative governments. However even TheSensibleCentre Socialists, while personally popular, struggled with party membership, lost traction and numbers, similarly to their predecessors and eventually bowed out into a merger with the Country Labor Party.

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/u/TheSensibleCentre, pictured early morning on the campaign trail.

But if anyone has been worried about the lack of a radical left wing voice in the public sphere, he Socialist Alliance, announced on Jan 23rd has marked a Socialist return once again, but this time, it has taken a different approach. The Socialist Alliance, founded by /u/Model-Trurl, /u/ContrabannedMC and /u/SmugDemoness describe themselves as a “cross party organization (sic)”.

In an interview with Crikey, /u/Model-Trurl revealed he believes Social Democracy is “not enough… for the Australian people”, and “full socialism” is rather necessary to be realised. He stated that the goals of the Socialist Alliance include “standing up for the working class's rights, defending marginalized (sic) people, and socialism!”

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/u/Model-Trurl giving a speech to his electorate of Hotham

Socialist Alliance have already been involved in the recent Adelaide Parklands tent city crisis, as they released a statement alongside official government releases, calling for a more radical approach to the recent Adelaide crisis, calling the seizure of buildings a “justified response”, and promised to bring “padlocks and crowbars” to aid such endeavours. /u/ContrabannedMC attended the tent city, to "distribute food and medical supplies". Alongside local MP, /u/Slow-passenger-1542, Socialist Alliance’s role in engaging the Premier’s intervention was likely significant, given the strong media presence they have garnered over the past few days.

Interestingly, /u/Model-Trurl did not seek permission from his party leader, /u/Youmaton, in the formation of this group, and to the best of his knowledge, other Alliance members didn’t either. He also divulged that there is “some support” for Socialist Alliance members to vote as a bloc in parliament, however it hadn’t been arranged yet.
This begs the question, why not simply form a party?
Despite /u/Model-Trurl’s personal amenability to the realisation of Socialist Alliance into a more organised party, he made clear it was “extraordinarily unlikely”, given the lack of support from others members of the Alliance. And EXCLUSIVELY to Crikey, /u/Model-Trurl revealed, he had personal “reservations about SDP formation”. These remarks were communicated to Crikey in a rather nonchalant way, but certainly concerning for the government, given /u/Model-Trurl is a minister in Youmaton’s Cabinet.

The Socialist Alliance does not necessarily mark a return to factions inside the main centre-left party of the day, as seen with 2018/2019 Labour. It does, however, enunciate the ideological divisions within the government which consists of now outright socialists and those more moderate, such as former Centre Alliance Leader MP /u/tbyrn21, who is an SDP Senator for Western Australia. Come election time, this may prove interesting internal battles in creation and promotion of policies within the Social Democratic manifesto. It seems /u/Youmaton positions themself in the middle of the party ideologically, as in a brief exchange with Crikey, the Prime Minister, /u/Youmaton rejected a description of her as a Socialist, describing herself as a “Social Democrat”.

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The Prime Minister might be facing a more divided party that once thought

The SDP government received 36.7% of the vote in the last election, and it will certainly be hoping to keep its broad base in its search for re-election, which at the latest is mid March 2024. Victory in Lingiari marked a SDP majority in the House of Representatives, and recent polls saw a surge of 9% to 34% of voter support, putting the Government in a strong position for an election next month, provided little drama escalates from the possible rift between the achievement of Socialism within the Social Democrats.

How much influence the Socialist Alliance group ends up wielding on Australian politics over a longer term is obviously yet to be seen, but early signs are promising for those out there who believe the government needs a voice from the left providing political pressure and public critique. Whatever the case, it certainly will be interesting to observe the development of the Socialist Alliance, and Crikey will be along with you to dive into it all!

Welcome back to politics with Crikey! We have missed you and I’m sure you’ve missed us. If any readers have any topics they’d wish for us to explore, or are willing to sit down for an interview, please let us know!