O RLY?
Australian politics. As both major parties attempt to win the two or three Independent backers which will tip them over the line to form a government capable of at least being able to implement policy, the three Independents have closed ranks and seem to be saying to both parties "show me everything you got".
The slightly more right-leaning major party started by initially refusing to reveal its proposed national budget (because the last time they submitted one, it got leaked and nearly a billion dollars in shortfalls were pointed out). The Independents have cordially responded by picking the party leader up by the face and shaking him until a budget fell out, then retiring to a back room with said budget and a magnifying glass.
The same major party is now attempting a campaign of telling the Independents how terrible the slightly more left-leaning party would be because they'd be "really Left. Ooooh, so Left. Lefty Lefty Left-Left. Booga booga!".
The Independents' response so far has been to not change expression while the Conservative Coalition capers about like a monkey.
In the meantime, the Left-ish major party has quietly either given the Independents all the documentation they've asked for, or responded with the political equivalent of "You'll have it on your desk Monday morning." Given that they're the de facto government in the meantime until the next major administrative bill has to be voted on, it's probably in their interests to sit back and keep frosty, but it's interesting to see them keeping a tight lid on things. I suspect that all affiliated politicians up and down the country, national or state, have been told in no uncertain terms that if they even so much as think of opening their mouths without approval from the top, they'll be chewing on a mile and a half of boot leather and their own teeth for the next three years.
What makes it even more interesting is that the particular Independents in question are theoretically and historically more Right-leaning than Left. However, the left-wing party seems to be the one with its eye more on the ball with regard to what the Independents might like to see. Either the Independents have already secretly chosen who to support and are being VERY cagey, or they truly are still chewing over the options. The press releases they've submitted so far have all been surprisingly low-key, and with the impression that they're going to play things very cautiously indeed (instead of going the rock star route).
It's oddly refreshing, in national politics, to hear that a small group of politicians, handed disproportionate power, have decided to lock themselves away from the media scrum and carefully consider all sides of an issue. It's almost as if, y'know, they're taking this seriously.
The slightly more right-leaning major party started by initially refusing to reveal its proposed national budget (because the last time they submitted one, it got leaked and nearly a billion dollars in shortfalls were pointed out). The Independents have cordially responded by picking the party leader up by the face and shaking him until a budget fell out, then retiring to a back room with said budget and a magnifying glass.
The same major party is now attempting a campaign of telling the Independents how terrible the slightly more left-leaning party would be because they'd be "really Left. Ooooh, so Left. Lefty Lefty Left-Left. Booga booga!".
The Independents' response so far has been to not change expression while the Conservative Coalition capers about like a monkey.
In the meantime, the Left-ish major party has quietly either given the Independents all the documentation they've asked for, or responded with the political equivalent of "You'll have it on your desk Monday morning." Given that they're the de facto government in the meantime until the next major administrative bill has to be voted on, it's probably in their interests to sit back and keep frosty, but it's interesting to see them keeping a tight lid on things. I suspect that all affiliated politicians up and down the country, national or state, have been told in no uncertain terms that if they even so much as think of opening their mouths without approval from the top, they'll be chewing on a mile and a half of boot leather and their own teeth for the next three years.
What makes it even more interesting is that the particular Independents in question are theoretically and historically more Right-leaning than Left. However, the left-wing party seems to be the one with its eye more on the ball with regard to what the Independents might like to see. Either the Independents have already secretly chosen who to support and are being VERY cagey, or they truly are still chewing over the options. The press releases they've submitted so far have all been surprisingly low-key, and with the impression that they're going to play things very cautiously indeed (instead of going the rock star route).
It's oddly refreshing, in national politics, to hear that a small group of politicians, handed disproportionate power, have decided to lock themselves away from the media scrum and carefully consider all sides of an issue. It's almost as if, y'know, they're taking this seriously.