Since Labors victory, the threat of rightwing populism has not gone away it has grown increasingly palpable.Carl Rhodesreports.

AS RIGHT-WING POPULISM spread across the globe, many hailed the Labor Partys decisive May election victory as proof Australia had bucked the trend. New analysis suggests the nation may not be as immune as once thought.

The Australian Election Study, released last month, found the former opposition leaderPeter Duttonto be the least popular major party leader since the survey began in 1987. Respondents branded him uninspiring, untrustworthy, dishonest, and weak as a leader.

This result suggests that Duttons loss was not proof that Australians had rejected rightwing extremism. It might just be that he was not very good at populism. More troubling, the evidence suggests the threat remains very real in Australia.

The Opposition Leader'selection campaign claims have shown voters the Liberals havenothing new to offer them.

Temu Trumps failure

At the time of the election, Duttons defeat was widely attributed to the socalled "Trump effect"of him being negatively associated with the United States leader. Dutton was even mocked as aTemu Trump, a cut-price imitation of a president who had been sworn into office only months earlier.

The policy positions of the two men were strikingly similar, bordering on political plagiarism. Macho conservatism manifested in harsh immigration measures, blinkered and racialised nationalism, and ruthless cuts to government jobs and spending.

Dutton may have mimicked Trump, but he lacked the narcissistic certainty that insulated the U.S. President from self-doubt. What emerged instead was a politician whoflipfloppedwhen public support showed signs of waning, while unable to fully inhabit the populist talking points that had been scripted for him. He could not muster the confidence, charisma and emotional appeal that successful populist leaders deploy to mobilise discontent.

Consider successful populists around the world, like Donald Trump himself, but alsoNigel Faragein the United Kingdom. Both possess a peculiar ability to mask their social and economic privilege while convincingly arguing that their interests align with those of ordinary citizens struggling under the weight of an economy that has sacrificed shared prosperity on the bonfire of global neoliberalism.

By contrast, Dutton came across as little more than an unreliable imitator lacking the acumen to be the nations leader. In hindsight, it looks like his populist policy platform was not the problem, Australians simply couldnt warm to him.

The mainstreaming of Australian populism

Since Labors victory, the threat of rightwing populism has not gone away, it has grown increasingly palpable. NationwideMarch for Australiarallies in August and October drew thousands. Framed around nationalism, antiwokeness, and blaming immigration for the cost of living crisis, the Melbourne rally in August featured a speech fromThomas Sewell, leader of the neoNazi National Socialist Network.

Flags waved, and crowds cheered as Sewell warned of the cultural demise of proud and true and thoroughbred Australians if we allow these wokes to rule over us, and tell us what were to think.

The rallies were not confined to fringe extremists. Among theprotestorswere mainstream politicians, including One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and MPBob Katter. Hanson, long the stalwart of Australian populism, is experiencing a resurgence.Pollinglast month showed her partys primary support at 14 per cent, its highest since 1998. If anelectionwere held today, One Nation could emerge as Australias third-largest political party, with roughly 12 seats.

Elsewhere in mainstream politics, Liberal MPAndrew Hastiehasemergedas a frontrunner to take over as leader of his party. This is the man who, in September,arguedthat immigration was not only making Australians feel like strangers in our own home, but that it was also impoverishing people by fuelling high house prices.

Calls have also grown for Australia to form a new politicalmovementakin to Nigel Farages populist Reform Party in the UK, replete with policies to abandon carbon taxes, lower the minimum wage, cut immigration, reduce government spending and services, and increase economic isolationism. Meanwhile, Australias richest woman,Gina Rinehart, has been advocating for Australia to adopt Donald Trump-style policies tomake Australia great.

The evidence is unmistakable: in 2025 rightwing populism has not only survived but entered the mainstream.

Days away from the Federal Election, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has yet to offer the voting public any reason to elect him.

Australias populist test lies ahead

Now that the dust has settled on Mays federal election, it is clear that Peter Duttons loss was not the defeat of populism. The danger did not disappear with one botched election campaign. It lives on in the possibility of a more compelling, disciplined populist stepping forward to exploit the currents of anger and distrust already being stoked.

Genuine economic discontent is the fuel beneath the populist fire. Housing affordability hascollapsed, locking younger Australians out of home ownership while rents soar. Wages havestagnatedwhile inflation has eroded household budgets, leaving more and more people excluded from prosperity. Meanwhile, the number ofAustralian billionaireskeeps growing.

Without robust political solutions to these fundamental economic problems, populist leaders will continue chasing power by falsely blaming immigration, climate policies, and globalisation for economic pain. Mass rallies, rising support for One Nation, and mainstream politicians echoing populist rhetoric all signal a movement gathering strength.

The lesson is stark. Populism did not die with Dutton, it is simply that it is waiting for the right messenger, someone who can fuse grievance with charisma, and channel discontent into power and division. When that figure arrives, Australia will face its true populist test.

Carl Rhodesis Professor of Business and Society at the University of Technology, Sydney. He has written severalbookson the relationship between liberal democracy and contemporary capitalism. You can follow him on X/Twitter@ProfCarlRhodes.

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