26 February 2025

ALAN HAYES

 

FOR those who may not remember their history lessons in school, and the new generation who have no idea of past history, Adolf Hitler, another megalomaniacal personality, in 1933 dismantled a democracy in 53 days. He used the constitution to shatter the constitution. In one of the most astonishing political transformations in the history of democracy, Hitler set about destroying a constitutional republic through constitutional means. Sound familiar?

 

But is the honeymoon now over for Donald Trump as he continues to shake up the Pentagon to align the military with his agenda (thrusting it into unchartered territory), while allowing Musk to uncontrollably ‘rip to shreds’ the American dream? Elon Musk’s blitzkrieg is unnerving many of Trump’s senior advisers and farmers, who supported Trump, now grow nervous as tariffs loom, fearing the loss of customers for American crops.

 

Trump’s DOGE department also went after officials fighting foreign influence, claiming that it was in the “guise of fighting misinformation and disinformation, the government had infringed on free speech rights of Americans.” Experts are alarmed that the cuts could leave the U.S. defenseless against covert influence operations and could embolden foreign adversaries. In last year’s election, those officials fighting foreign influence tracked and publicised numerous such operations from Russia, China and Iran.

 

As Musk’s power grows, however, protesters, the faithful that voted for Trump, are now taking to the street with signs saying that they ‘did not vote for Musk’ – not embracing the MAGAland dream.

 

But is Musk’s role also a repeat of history? In Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich, Heinrich Himmler, who was the Reich Leader (Reichsführer) of the dreaded SS of the Nazi Party, presided over a vast bureaucratic empire that defined him for many - both inside and outside the Third Reich - as the second most powerful man after Adolf Hitler in Germany during World War II. The parallels of Musk’s DOGE department are dangerously similar. Efficiency – or empire? His hostile takeover could end government as we know it!

 

Yet true to form, and to deflect from what is really happening, Trump’s social media posts are littered with falsehoods. ‘Long Live The King’: Trump likened himself to royalty on Truth Social.  His fondness for regal themes was also apparent as Trump applauded his administration’s move to kill congestion pricing in New York, and have the Senate appoint an ally, with little law-enforcement experience, as the next director of the F.B.I.

 

So, how many loose screws can democracy tolerate? Much of the world has gone made over MAGA as extreme right-wing fascism replaces the sanity of good governance and democracy. Even Australia is not immune to this new world dystopian order, and people are lapping it up.

 

Ironically, the would-be-dictator of the free world, Trump v2.0, last week called the ‘kettle black’ when he accused Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, of being a “dictator”, who took money from the U.S. to go to war with Russia – echoing the Kremlin’s messaging, and repeating a familiar pattern from Trump’s first term. In a social media post, strewn with fabrication, Trump didn’t mention President Vladimir Putin, or that Russia seized some Ukrainian territory in 2014 before its full-scale invasion in 2022.

 

Trump also suggested that the future security of Ukraine would not be an American problem. A sobering reality for Australia – it won’t stop at the Ukraine. In a world gone MAGA, Australia needs a new defence strategy, because Donald Trump has changed the world. Those charged with defending Australia, need to accept that the rise of a ‘madman’ will leave us out in the cold.

 

It should now be blatantly obvious to Australia that we can no longer rely on the U.S. to guarantee our security. The election of an unpredictable crazy-man as U.S. president demands a new approach to our defence, including more spending and greater cooperation with other nations similarly dealing with the MAGA disease - hoping that Trump is just an aberration is not an option.

 

And while Australian politicians struggle to not upset the Trump administration by refusing to endorse his deplorable proposals, such as the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the withdrawing of its security for the Ukraine, which is only the beginning, the rise of the MAGA psychosis is evident in Australia’s political arena.

 

Clive Palmer launched a new Trump-inspired political party, days after ‘United Australia's’ (Palmer’s former political party) High Court bid to re-register failed. So, can we expect to see Clive in a Trump wig? But one thing is certain, Palmer has said that he’s willing to spend “whatever is required” to help candidates of his new Trumpet of Patriots political party win seats at the federal election.

 

The first thought that popped into my mind was ‘How long might it have taken for Clive Palmer to come up with such a magnificently flatulent title’? – considering it’s spiced with a highly fragrant and unmistakable blast of another reincarnation, Mr MAGA himself.

 

In announcing his new party, Palmer was true to the MAGA doctrine, insisting he would make ‘Australia great again’ and emulate Elon Musk’s efforts to cut government waste.

 

Extreme right wing fascism seems to be gathering too many kings! – or would-be patriots (parrots … well if the shoe fits … a stumble by Palmer when announcing the birth of his new political baby).

 

Yet there is little doubt from the Palmer advertisements now popping up on TV that his new mission is shaped entirely in the image of a new Trumpian dystopian world. A world where the environment is swept aside for fossil fuel interests.

 

Dutton in MAGAAustralis

 

Peter Dutton has praised Trump as being a “big thinker”, saying that he brings “gravitas” to international affairs, and that people should not “make the mistake” of taking Donald Trump literally but focus on his results.

 

But is Dutton just another MAGA would-be-emperor? How quickly three years dims the memory of many Australians!

 

Remember when Scott Morrison was Prime Minister, the last time the LNP coalition was in power? He disappeared when the going got tough? Well, it seems to be an affliction of Coalition leaders – Dutton continues to do a ‘Scomo’, disappearing when events don't serve his interests.

 

When the going gets tough, Peter Dutton gets going – hiding from questions; an all-too-common pattern. When he does reappear, when he’s judged it safe to emerge without having to comment on key policies, he flip-flops with no real vision for Australia – except maybe to wave the MAGAAustralis flag.

 

Dutton’s long-running strategy of evaporating, whenever things get difficult, is not what Australia needs in a leader.

 

He pulled the vanishing act after he compared pro-Palestine protests to the Port Arthur massacre just days before the Bondi Junction murders, deeming it wise to keep a low profile in case he was asked why he was trivialising mass killings. He vanished after the Liberals lost Dunkley in March 2024. He went to ground when Labor unveiled its changes to the stage three tax cuts.

 

And while Dutton lies low, he leaves his deputy Sussan Ley, and his shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, to bear the burden. They often don’t fare too well at all.

 

But you can’t help wondering if this would be the way Dutton would govern the country – a ‘Scomo’ prime minister. If there was a crisis that reflected badly on his government, would he leave it to ministers to do the hard yakka, while he waits for the softball breakfast TV interviews? At least there might have some policies to discuss by that point – even that’s debateable!

 

And what about the challenges with Donald Trump! Would Dutton continue his ‘Houdini’ act'?

 

The Trump card

 

Inevitably, the shadow of MAGA is hanging increasing over our upcoming election. Yet Peter Dutton doesn’t pull any punches on Donald Trump – he merely goes along with the flow. And although not a mini-me Trump, he does share some of Trump’s views on issues such as government spending, bureaucracy and identity politics. Former prime minister Scott Morrison told the Australian Financial Review last week that Dutton would sympathise with some of Trump's objectives. MAGAAustralis?

 

So, how will Trump's push to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which has taken Trumpism to a fresh, alarming level, and could inject strains into the Australia-US relationship, play out in the Liberal far-right camp?

 

There is no longer a premium for being a close ally or partner of the US. Business is business, according to Trump.

 

Trump’s insistence that allies pay for their own defence, because the US is sick of paying for it, is not only pure gangsterism, but a sign of his totalitarian controls - alienation and America’s interests matter more than any set of rules.

 

Previously, the high-minded U.S. willingness to “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend” in defence of liberty, which was always been coupled with a desire to make the world safe and prosperous for U.S. capitalism, has now gone. Trump has removed the last layer of pretence and transformed foreign policy into that of a belligerent rack-renter, hellbent on extracting as much as he can from anyone less powerful than him.

 

Even far more frightening is that Trump doesn’t merely have a new imperial project in mind - colonising Greenland and Gaza, occupying Canada, turning Ukraine into an outpost of corporate America to get his grubby and greedy hands on their mineral wealth; nothing less than extortion - he wants to MAGAify the world. His co-president Elon Musk and Vice President J D Vance openly intervene in the politics of other countries, including notional U.S. allies, to back far-right parties. Meanwhile other countries’ economic or tax policies that inconvenience U.S. companies must be removed, lest the offending nations face punitive tariffs.

 

Just like Adolf Hitler, Trump envisages a truly global empire in which U.S. capital can be finally, and completely, unfettered.

 

The Federal election

 

Trump is not overly popular in Australia, so how will MAGAification fair in the election?

 

Peter Dutton has claimed to be better placed to deal with Trump, but his perfection of the ‘disappearing act’ has tarnished his image to take control of policy and issues – we don’t want another ‘Scomo’ leading the nation with u-turn decisions. Why? Because Australia needs policy that will stand up against an emerging gangster nation.

 

Undoubtedly though, many on the right would be happy to adopt extreme right-wing fascism (and many on the left would be relieved the mask has finally dropped, revealing the true nature of Trump’s desire for world dominion). Although ideological affinity may get Australia better (more lenient?) treatment in DC, it is only one side of the coin. The other side comes down to who is best placed to make Australia more resilient and stronger in a world where our main ally no longer seeks to underwrite the global rules-based order.

 

Trump’s totalitarian desires lead to a series of undeniable questions: will we back the appeasement of Russia; will we back America turning its back on its European allies; and will we condone and back America’s aspiration to build another colonial empire?

 

If Australia stands up against Trump’s madness, will we may well see another war? Not a war of military weapons but a war of sanctions and interference - Trump’s wrath, as his cohorts back fringe political parties like One Nation; demanding the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme be dumped and US fossil fuel companies given special tax treatment? And supporting the Trumpet of Patriots, the party who believes in the policies of Donald Trump?

 

The question is how far will Dutton go to see MAGAAustralis? While he is likely to adopt some Trump-like policies - his nuclear and fossil fuel stance plays into that - will he kowtow to avoid sanctions so that Trump gets his way. Already, Dutton’s given an apparent nod to Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, appointing a spokesperson on government efficiency (SMOGE?). The proliferation of Welcome to Country ceremonies has been criticised and federal funding will be cut back. He has also attacked cultural diversity roles.

 

The future

 

As the politicians go on their ‘baby-kissing’ electioneering, it’s a different world that Australia has been thrust into. No longer can we depend on the U.S. to come to our aid – in Trump’s world, it’s make a deal, regardless of who else it hurts. Yet our policymakers still seem convinced that America will guarantee our security – we can navigate all the hurdles thrown up by Trump until the U.S. returns to normal.

 

In Trump’s world there is no normal – MAGAland has risen; a dystopian regime full of resentment, retribution, racketeering and racial supremacy.

 

In MAGAland there are no friends, just capitulation to a lunatic’s will. So, how will Australia fare?

 

Last Friday, Trump signed an executive order titled “Defending American Companies and Innovators From Overseas Extortion and Unfair Fines and Penalties”.

 

The order threatens retaliatory tariffs against foreign governments accused of “increasingly exert[ing] extraterritorial authority over American companies, especially in the technology sector”.

 

Australia is the first country explicitly named in the order, albeit in the context of claiming that the U.S. tech sector is bigger than the economy of a handful of nations, including “Canada, or most members of the European Union”.

 

Australia has been at the forefront of global governments forcing tech companies to pay for journalism, but Trump is determined to have none of that. Instead, exerting his dictatorial bullying to get his own way.

 

Stop pandering to Donald Trump's “bully boy” tactics and start holding big tech accountable, was the Greens' message to Anthony Albanese. "Pandering to the tech bullies won’t serve Australia’s interests", Sarah Hanson-Young said.

 

And what about our submarine deal with U.S.? AUKUS is no doubt dead in the water and it is highly unlikely that the submarines will ever be built. The submarines are now intended to be part of a U.S. war that may break out with China, not a defensive asset for Australia.

 

As former Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull said last week, “We won’t see anything of the $800 billion deposit we paid.”

 

For Australia, rethinking our position in the Pacific is imperative, so that we have less need to rely on a U.S. transformed into a high-tech fascist dystopia, and feel less pressure to fall into line when next we’re called upon to join in and support the next U.S. imperialist venture.

 

Another priority might be greater cooperation with allies who are in the same boat as us in relation to the U.S., unable to depend on it any longer.

 

Australia can’t rely on the dystopian madness of a Trump administration to spend a single cent, or spill a single drop of blood, on our protection. The days of U.S. friendship are gone!

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