I remember when Nikita Khrushchev led the Soviet Union and the then threat of the USSR to the freedoms of those in the ‘free’ world. Therefore, it is ‘interesting’ to see some of that same threat in China toward the West today. Sadly, communism is NOT dead and in my personal opinion many of those who claim to be conservatives are leaning further and further to the left which is socialism/communism. The following is from Communist Party of Australia web site. ‘October will bring the ACT election, pitting a 19-year-old Labor Government, led by Chief Minister Andrew Barr against the Canberra Liberal Party, led by Allistair Coe. The ACT is generally regarded as safe Labor Territory, and after 19 years in power, most criticisms of the Labor Party are limited to a sentiment that they have been in for too long. The opposition has little ground with Canberra voters, and the social views of the Canberra Liberals, among the most conservative in the country, are at odds with one of Australia’s most progressive populations. Coe himself is frequently perceived as lacking the charisma needed for politics, with even active voters struggling to recall his name.
Led by former Liberal politician Bill Stefaniak, the Belco Party, from the Belconnen region of Canberra, is seeking election in the electorate of Ginninderra. Running on a promise to “keep the bastards honest,” a slogan initially used by the Australian Democrats in the 1970s, the party seems to present very little actual policy. Upon further inspection, their links to the Liberal Party become apparent. Many Belco party candidates have ties to the Liberal Party, the most bizarre of which seems to be Belco candidate Vijay Dubey. A former schoolteacher, Dubey ran as an independent in the 2016 election, coming in at less than one per cent of the vote. Earlier this year, Dubey attempted to run as a Liberal, before his expulsion from the party. The Liberal Party stated that they had removed Dubey from the party for his failure to stick to party messaging. Dubey’s election signs are Liberal blue with a Belco Party sticker over the Liberal logo. In the ACT’s register of political donations, open to the public, it can be seen that a property development company made a donation of $2000 to the Belco Party. Most Belco Party candidates are of a business or Liberal background, showing them to be little more than a front for the Liberals.
The Belco Party is part of a growing trend of so-called “third-party” options that exist to provide charisma to the establishment Right. Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party, which blanketed Australia in yellow over the 2019 federal election, did not win a single seat, despite spending over $80 million on advertising. Despite this massive waste of money, Clive Palmer did not fail in his objective. He never meant to win government, his intention was to smear the Labor Party with accusations of Chinese interference (despite doing big deals with Chinese companies himself) and secure Liberal re-election. A similar event occurred in the American Presidential election, billionaire Mike Bloomberg entering the race late (and soon dropping out) in response to the success of centre-left candidate Bernie Sanders. Frustration with the two-party political system is being co-opted by the capitalist establishment, with parties that promise vague ideas of change but will support all the neoliberal policies of the major parties.’https://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2020/1935/05-belco.html
That’s how the communists see it.
