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Well, as far as I remember, he didn't run as an independent in OTL. The 'unpledged electors', elected in Alabama and defecting in Mississippi, chose to cast their votes for him instead of Kennedy. I mean, they might as well have cast their votes for Mickey Mouse. The gesture was a protest...

Back, after an unseemly break, with this. The next two weeks will be spent frantically studying, but I should be able to finish this soon. It's gasping, collapsing towards a conclusion. Day 740... It had been a regular party line vote – 46 to 40, 2 abstaining. New Nationalism returned to...

This is something I've often wondered myself. It wasn't by 'one vote', though, but it was closer than expected. The thing is, Gough Whitlam influenced the Liberal leadership battles; one of the reasons Gorton imploded was because Whitlam was routinely beating him into the House floor like a tent...

Believe me, it's even more difficult. In Canada, you just require assent from half the legislatures. In Australia, you need assent from a majority of people in a majority of states. It doesn't sound so difficult, until you realise Australians hate referendums, often voting against them just for...

Constitutional amendments are very, very difficult in Australia. You need strong support from one party to even get a referendum on the ballot, and bipartisan support to get them passed. The Beazley government are currently drafting a 'racial discrimination' amendment, to squelch Hanson once and...

Very interesting idea -- a much larger Jewish minority. A model minority, of course, but one entirely disproportionate to any other non-British minority in Australian history. Initially, I expect we'd see a lot of opposition. It was long rumoured that Menzies was anti-Semitic, and there was a...

Interesting question. The Permanent Vigil outside Parliament House has dwindled to a small assortment of semi-permanent local residents, who often leave the fort unattended for days at a time. The Greens (not far left, I know) polled very well during the Mackenroth leadership, in response to his...

Tch. Why so pessimistic? I write stories with happy endings all the time. From the beginning of this, I wanted to write a romance (actually, no, I didn't; I wanted to write a romance, then changed my mind to write a TL, then ended up writing a romance by accident.) Just because they're both...

Well, I'm very glad both of you are ambiguous about Mark -- but that's more by accident than anything. At first, he was simply meant to be a sympathetic hero out of his depth. Then I decided to make him into an increasingly insane sociopath. Now he's wobbling back towards 'idiot'. It's...

Well, something I've been implicitly pushing for (through asides and offhand references) is Hanson's idea that the states should regain control of income tax (last mentioned after the Republic referendum, I think). It seems the kind of cause she'd be eminently suited to lead, and what's more...

A short entry, covering 100 days. Character stuff. The Second Crisis and Recovery If keeping Steven Mann as an adviser was untenable, in light of The Freedom Future’s release, it must still be considered preferable to the consequences of sacking him. Mann, forced from his position by...

The media is something I would have really liked to focus on, seeing as I'm interested in amalgamations and media diversity Out West, but unfortunately it's largely a federal responsibility in Australia. I like the idea, though, that one of the Trust's main purposes is to prop up regional...

The First Crisis – The Freedom Future The Freedom Future has become synonymous in Australian politics for misguided policies, disastrous ambition, ignorance of voter concerns, and hubris. It has become so well-known that very few find the need to actually read the document. The ABC, who...

(Laughs hysterically) Oh, may I please use that? That's a wonderful line.

Those are both things I've always been interested in, and I'm glad you've picked up on them. I haven't emphasized the 'friendly sameness' way in this the way I have in a few (unposted) things I've written, and in Advance Australia, my first AH TL. But it's something I always keep in mind...

Well, Chomsky will be 84 then, with Buchanan a sprightly 74. With an average age of 79, their policies will have to be heavily geared towards hip replacements. I really like the idea of populist far-right-wingers pushing left-wing economic policies (I shan't plug my TL, Revolutionaries, here...

If it's any consolation? It was only about five pages. Steven Mann is the kind of guy who likes to pepper his documents with 'chapters', so he can move rapidly from one idea to the next. But yes, Our Mark is becoming increasingly irrational. Next update will have to focus on getting him back...

Bracks is Opposition Leader in Victoria. Denis Napthine is Premier. Jeff's popularity in Victoria was declining, which was a motivating factor behind jumping ship to the federal government. At the moment, Beazley enjoys a slim lead in the polls over Kennett, with One Nation voters serving to...

I had a few hours, so I wrote up the first part of Part 2, which, after a long and boring introduction, follows a more conventional 'narrative structure', with actual events rather than detailed explanations of policy. Anyway, future updates won't be so frequent, because, as I never tire of...

Well, thank you all so much. It's astonishing to have so many people read and enjoy this -- it's highly damaging to my social skills (example: Whaddaya mean, no service? People read my work, you fool! They PRAISE me, mortal! Now get me a table! A BIGGER table!) but really nice. Thank you...