This Week in Politics
State of the Union
President Joe Biden held his final constitutional State of the Union address for this presidential term. He took sharp aim at Republicans and former President Trump to gear up for the general election campaign. Bipartisanship is not something for an election year, his speech reflects the deep division within the American people - democrats contributing thunderous cheers for Mr Biden and Republicans the opposite. Anthony Zurcher, North American politics correspondent for the BBC, noted that the event was more of a "political convention than a State of the Union address." The president covered topics such as the economy, immigration, abortion, and Gaza - all vital in his re-election campaign.
Inclusion of Women in the Australian Liberal Party
The Liberal Party of Australia, center-right, has long struggled with fair representation between women and men, with the latter being heavily over-represented. As some senior women within the party prepare to leave politics they fear that their replacements will be men, furthering the inequality of the Liberals. The center-right group has a goal of 50-50 delegation between men and women by 2032, originally the goal was set for 2025. However, currently, such a goal is looking unlikely as a mere 89 Coalition (Liberal Party and the Nationalists) parliamentarians are women compared to 193 men.
“If we fail to implement meaningful change, the party will become permanent occupants of the opposition benches. The quiet approach has not worked. We have a small window to act. And we must.” - Linda Reynold former Minister and retiring Senator wishes for a woman to replace her.
Furthermore, Maria Kovacic NSW Liberal senator and former state president stated that her party needs more women. The question of equality has been handled passively by the Liberals which has proven ineffective and calls for aggressive equality tactics are becoming more prominent. Australians have taken note of this slow change and have punished the party and as Linda Reynolds states the Liberals must include women or face the consequences.
Super Tuesday and Nikki Haley
The GOPs Super Tuesday re-affirmed the party's devoted commitment to former President Trump. The results showcased Mr Trump's unquestionable dominance over the Republican Party. The former president reached just over 1000 delegates whilst his main opponent Nikki Haley held only a 10nth of that. As a result, Mrs Haley dropped out of the race leaving Mr Trump as the last large contender. The former president is about 100 delegates from winning the primary completely, however, has effectively already secured the primary.
Theresa May Stepping Down
Former Conservative prime minister Theresa May has stated her intent to retire as an MP in the coming election. Mrs May has served in Parliament for 27 years and is the highest Tory profile to depart from the House of Commons out of a total of 64. The former pm cited time as a main factor in her resignation, believing that she could no longer do the job in the way her constituency deserves. Speaking about the current state of the political climate she said that there is less respect for others' views. Furthermore, she emphasised the importance of good politicians:
“Democracy depends on us being able to debate key issues that affect people’s everyday lives seriously and respectfully. It needs politicians who put those they represent first and themselves second. It needs MPs who are there to serve,” Mrs May said.
