You read the title.
There’s just over a week to go until the 2022 Federal Election and it's fair to stay things are getting quite serious. And sure, this is the fate of the nation we’re talking about. But at a certain point it’s important to take a step back and remind yourself how truly bizarre and inane politics truly is. In the interest of bringing some levity back, here are five of the weirdest things to happen this election season. Obviously they’ve been selected with the utmost of objectivity and abject criteria-based reasoning to ensure journalistic integrity was maintained.
5. Pauline Hanson’s One Nation puts the wrong candidates names on flyers
A classic cautionary tale to the importance of proofreading. Sure we’ve all made a typo or two but this lack of attention to detail doesn’t exactly inspire confidence for the voter. I was always advised by my uni tutors to read my work aloud to better catch little grammatical missteps but in this case perhaps simply looking at the posters would have sufficed.
4. Green’s candidate Stephen Bates takes out ads on Grindr
I actually think this is political genius, and mostly included them because I want as many people as possible to see them. Honestly, the weirdest thing about these ads is that they are an example of authorised political advertising that doesn’t come across as condescending or vaguely deranged.
3. Albanese becomes a Jedi Knight
Albo’s been going through a lot of reinvention lately; we had the haircut, the new glasses and now he wants to be Obi-Wan Kenobi. Claiming to be Australia’s only hope is a little strong but, credit where credit is due, this is a pretty solid photoshop. Hats off to whichever intern had to churn this HD masterpiece out.
2. One Nation Candidate Diane Pepe becomes a ghost
In the spirit of candidates taking on new personas, Diana Pepe went for a more supernatural slant when she took the form of a ghost candidate in Herbert, Queensland. You see, while the seat she’s running for is in north Queensland, Pepe’s actual address is in Pakenham, Victoria. Apparently One Nation ghost candidates are haunting electorates across the country in a bizarre yet legal campaigning move.
1. Scott Morrison (thinks) he’s taking a selfie (pls watch the video—the Farrago website hates embedded tweets)
Honestly this just speaks for itself. The quick thinking to pull Scomo in for a selfie. Building up his ego with a simple “congratulations” before it all comes crashing down. The video may only be about three seconds but the deeply satisfying cringe is sustenance enough for another week and a bit until the election is finally over.