Inside One Nation’s strategy of scandal, chaos and controversy

Written by: Ashlynne McGhee, Head of Editorial Innovation, The Conversation

We’d all like deeply considered policy and informed debate to be at the heart of politics, but unfortunately controversies and scandals tend to steal the show.

For most parties, scandals are disastrous: they lose seats, ministers and elections — but not One Nation.

It’s weathered defections and punch-ups (including a memorable smearing of blood on a Senate door), jail and chaos, and 30 years on it’s surging.

This is a party that doesn’t just survive the chaos, but cultivates it and capitalises on it.

Jordan McSwiney researches far-right parties and movements. In episode three of our new series The Making of One Nation ^[1], he says the more controversy, the better for One Nation.

Scandals tend to actually work in the party’s favour.

It’s incomparable. I can’t really think of another political party that has such a sort of history of dysfunction and such high profile blowups.

And he says cultivating scandal is a very intentional strategy.

These kinds of things are basically an attempt to capture media attention, stay in the headlines and shift the focus of the national conversation to One Nation’s preferred issues.

But he warns that the Senator who courts the chaos and controversy, could also be its downfall.