The Australian Labor Party is arguably the most successful center-left party in the West today. It's won two general elections in a row, the last one gave them a thumping majority in Parliament.
Earlier this year the One Nation Party, roughly similar to far-right Reform UK, had been making inroads. One Nation surpassed Labor in a couple of polls. But the latest poll puts Labor back out in front. And in two-party preferred polling, Labor is ahead of both One Nation and the Liberal-National Coalition (center-right despite the name). The Greens have also gained a couple of percentage points and could eventually tie the floundering Coalition before long.
Pauline Hanson is the leader of One Nation. After a xenophobic outburst, she was criticized by Australian legend Paul Hogan.
Paul Hogan has reportedly called Pauline Hanson a ‘pelican’. Please explain?
In one swift rhetorical blow, Crocodile Dundee has disarmed Pauline Hanson’s latest attack on multiculturalism. But his weapon of choice has left some scratching their heads. Australian politics has spent a week recovering from the rightwing One Nation leader’s attempt to explain her controversial concept of “Australian monoculture”, first introduced at this month’s National Press Club address. On Wednesday, in a Senate speech, the One Nation leader said: “Bring back Paul Hogan and Norman Gunston. These are the essential features of Australian monoculture, and there’s nothing remotely exclusionary about them.” In response, Crocodile Dundee star Hogan, tracked down by the Australian Financial Review to Venice Beach, California, reached for a bird metaphor. “She’s a pelican, yeah,” he reportedly said (adding that Hanson “sounds very much like this stupid boofhead over here, Trump”).
Can't say I ever heard "pelican" used in this context. Though I do recall "boofhead" being used to describe Joffrey Baratheon when Game of Thrones was in production.
So going back to “pelican”, what does he mean exactly? Well, Hogan has prior form. In 1986’s Crocodile Dundee itself, his titular character tells a New York driver: “Get on the right side of the road, ya pelican!”
So feel free to call Trump or Hanson a boofhead – or even a pelican.
