How do we defeat the far right this election?
It’s the question progressives are all asking: how can we grab the opportunity presented by the 2025 Federal election to steer the public narrative - in the media, on the streets and online - in the direction of care and connectedness for people and nature?
No matter what policies or campaigns we're working on, our messages can influence the election outcome for good at this crucial time.
But there’s no doubt we’re up against it. Organisations like Advance are prepared to spend millions to promote a very different story – one based on the neoliberal ideals of wealth accumulation, competition and social power for a selected ‘in-group’. Even a glance at the news from the USA shows we can’t dismiss their appeal to the voting public – especially when it’s all they’re hearing.
So what the heck can we do? What must we do, if we want to gain traction for our ideas, our policy asks, and our own worldview?
The good news is that plenty of very astute thinkers have been applying themselves to this very question. Here are some important narrative lessons for progressives in Australia in 2025.
#1 STAY OUT OF THEIR FLOOD OF SH*T
“Never argue with an idiot. They’ll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” - Anonymous
Trump strategist Steve Bannon calls his approach ‘flooding the zone with sh*t’. Put out content relentlessly – any content. Doesn’t matter if it’s outrageous, blatantly unworkable, highly offensive or downright deranged. There’s no time or energy left for a counter narrative or a vision. The opposition is paralysed and the audience is numb.
It’s not quite at that level in Australia yet but hey, we’re just getting started. We need to sit down now and talk to our colleagues and comrades about what pronouncements from the other side we will respond to. Ideally, as few as possible. Many of these messages are designed for one thing only – as a distraction from the real issues at hand.
We must not get caught up reacting in the moment and pouring oil on the fire. Instead, we need to concentrate on telling our own story, and telling it well. We must make a rule to talk about what WE want, not what THEY want.
In short, tell our story, not theirs.
#2 ASK FOR MORE
“So what is this radical idea? That most people, deep down, are pretty decent.” - Rutger Bregman
Another knock-on effect of flooding the zone is that people quickly become cynical about each other. In every country that’s been surveyed, most people underestimated the importance that a typical fellow citizen places on things like compassion and justice, and overestimated the importance they placed on things like materialism and status. It’s not surprising we get this so wrong – as well as today’s grim discourse, historians and political scientists since the 1940s have been telling us – wrongly – that greed and selfishness are natural human inclinations. In fact, most humans are more inclined to altruism and cooperation.
Why does this matter? Firstly, we ourselves can fall into this trap. We try to engage with our audiences using toxic narratives like ‘economic growth’ because we think that’s what they want to hear. They don’t. Secondly, when audiences only hear these toxic narratives, they assume the majority of people believe them, and are put off speaking out against them or taking action.
So let’s be bolder in our asks this election time. Most people want a better world based on kindness and cooperation. They are hungry for change. Both research and real-world experience show they will accept much more radical solutions than we give them credit for.
#3 SHARE THE GOOD STUFF
“Autocrats benefit when we see only darkness. They fear nothing more than citizens who can see both challenges AND possibilities clearly” - Tom De Bruyne
Most people are not out shopping for a new problem to worry about. Bombarding our audiences with problems (however real) makes them switch off and drop out. A public that is depressed and cynical about the world is not going to help change it.
When we instead speak of our vision for a better future, we inspire. We cut through the murk and bring people back to a hopeful place where they are willing to see possibilities and take action. Hope is a strategy.
#4 IGNORE THE OPPONENTS
“Unless you are offering free vanilla cake, you cannot come up with a message that will appeal to everyone.” - Anat Shenker-Osorio
On any progressive issue, from fair working conditions to climate justice or health equity, between 8% and 25% of the population cannot be persuaded to our point of view. They may be able to understand it intellectually, but they fundamentally FEEL that what we’re saying is wrong.
That leaves between 75% and 92% who already agree with us or could be persuaded. This – not the opponents – is our audience. Let's make sure we are spending our time on messages that inspire our base and sway those who are open to persuasion. Time spent on opponents is time wasted. Messages that repeat our opponents’ views – even to debunk them – simply strengthen their cause.
This post was originally published on the Commons Library. Republished with permission.
