CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
Once the engine room for conservative Australian politics, it seems that Adelaide is no country for Liberal men.
This comes as prominent Australian Liberal Senator, Alex Antic, was forced to have a beer with One Nation candidate Cory Bernardi in a very public setting over the weekend.
With the party staring down the barrel at a bloodbath 2026 state election next month, the South Australian Liberal Party appears to have completely detached itself from the once reliable blueblood voter base that gave Australia names like Christopher Pyne and Alexander Downer.
With the extremely popular Labor Premier Peter Malinauskas tipped to drive the Liberals down to single digits in the lower house, the party is now scraping the barrel for support.
But nobody thought they'd sink as low as they did this week, with the party indicating via social media that it may direct preferences to One Nation ahead of Labor and the Greens.
This has sent shockwaves through the Adelaide business community, who are desperate to see a state opposition take the fight to Labor, but also cannot be seen to support the likes of Pauline Hanson.
While a coalition with One Nation might be the only thing that the South Australian Liberals have left in their toolbelt, the fact that Senator Antic was forced to meet publicly with Corey Bernardi speaks to the desperation.
For centuries, these kinds of unflattering political deals took place in the discretion of the South Australia's many private members clubs, namely the highly exclusive Adelaide Club - location 165 North Terrace in the CBD.
However, with the South Australian Liberals now parroting the uncouth talking points of foreign populists, and befriending bogans like One Nation - access to the halls of Adelaide's establishment has been restricted.
A distraught Christopher Pyne says this is just more evidence of the identity crisis currently tearing the Liberal Party apart.
"I never thought I'd see the day where the Adelaide Club was more welcoming to Lithuanians and women than they were to Liberals" said the former Defence Minister.
"Serves us right for mingling with the unwashed. This is Adelaide not fucking Ipswich!"
