Today, it was announced that Rohanite272 was the new leader of the opposition. Excessive infighting between the rabid dogs of the Liberal Party saw them boot out the man who was their leader barely a week ago in a tremendous shot to the foot. So don’t mistake the news that the SDP is now technically the official opposition as a success that the party management can take any credit for.

Indeed, if we look at the polls, the opposite is true. The SDP remained substantially less popular than the Australian Greens on Sunday’s Newspoll, and despite a 2.8% drop in the Liberal vote, the SDP could not overtake them. In fact, the newly founded Sensible Team, led by popular Canberra MP TheSensibleCentre, is nipping at the SDP’s heels, on 16% to the SDP’s 17%.

Newspoll projections show that nothing would fundamentally change for the SDP in terms of parliamentary arithmetic, either. While both the Greens and CLP do lose seats, it is not the SDP that gains, but rather, again, the Sensible Team, who would win two seats. The current government arrangement, featuring the Greens and CLP in coalition with the Sensible Team in confidence and supply, could effectively continue.

So, why is this? Sandwiched between an opposition that at this stage would elect a cardboard box with a blue tie as leader, and a government who should in theory be friendly to the SDP’s values, why have the SDP failed to find success? Well, therein lies the rub. The SDP’s values. What are those, exactly?

This article will continue tomorrow, with the publishing of Part 2. Stay tuned!