Lock up your middle-aged men because Pauline’s back and she’s as sexy and, ummm, as susceptible as ever.
See link for an interesting analysis of her return and how she has impacted on Australian politics.
During a recent conversation over risotto and a wine I couldn’t possibly pronounce (xenophobia perhaps?), it was suggested to me that Ms Hanson’s sexuality was evident in the days when she was aspiring to be the Liberal candidate for Oxley.
Given the unattractiveness of most members of political parties, me included, it’s hardly a surprise that someone who scrubs up all right with a bit of lippy and a nice frock would catch the attention of her male colleagues.
Hey, let’s face it, if you’re located on the heterosexual continuum and are interested in politics and having a perve, you’ve only got Tanya Plibersek if you’re a lad and Dr Nelson if you’re a gal.
Perhaps more interesting than the roaming eyes of Liberal chaps and my tragic infatuation with the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training is how central sexuality seems to be to explanations of Hanson’s continuing success as a political icon, even if it doesn’t clarify why she is such a failure as a politician.
Julia Baird begins her chapter about Hanson in Media Tarts: How the Australian Press Frames Female Politicians with quotes by Nicholas Rothwell and Marilyn Lake that support the notion that sex underscores Hanson’s political career.
Rather pruriently, Rothwell argues, “about Hanson there hangs the potent scent of late-blooming sensuality”.
If accurate, one speculates whether the lateness of Ms Hanson’s bloom gives her a youthfulness that is more enticing to some fellows than the complexity that is truly a woman of her experience and age.
I have wondered whether an element of Hanson’s appeal lies in her superficial reading of issues and her lack of introspection and self-analysis; qualities which Australian men born at a particular time both practice and find preferable to putting up with annoying feminists who demand you think about issues and challenge deep-seated prejudices.
Top this off with Hanson’s capacity to turn on the waterworks even when she is not watching The English Patient or any movie featuring Ralph Fiennes not playing a Nazi and what you’ve got is a sad indictment on gender relations in 2004.
By the way, I see Bill Flynn, in common with the former leader of his party, doesn’t know when to call it quits and is running for the seat of Oxley.
Since One Nation, like so many populist movements before it, imploded as quickly as something that quickly implodes, he doesn’t stand a chance.
I’m sure we’ll all be sorry to see Bill exit the political stage (make sure to lock the door after you leave, Bill).