Alternative Futures: Foster Progressive Change by Annoying Political Royalty with More United Front Protests

Almost 100,000 Australians joined in a responsible united front protest in support of Palestinians. This historical event challenged the recent genocide from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

These contemporary horrors in Gaza and the West Bank were embedded in the drift to the far-right in the politics of most representative democracies in developed countries over the past decade. The Trump administration is not isolated from the broader geopolitical map of representative governments in developed countries.

Australia is an exception with a mainstream Labor Government that enjoys a record majority. Grassroots opinion can assist in offering a Light from the Bridge which will be well received by new faces in the Labor Caucus.

In 2017, I speculated about possible movements on this geopolitical map with three scenarios for our future: Scenario 1 in Indo Pacific Futures 2051: The Triumph of Shared Strategic Might – The AIM Network: Scenario 2 in Indo Pacific Futures 2051: Living with Strong Steady States – The AIM Network; and Scenario 3 in Indo Pacific Futures 2051: Reaching for Aquarius – The AIM Network).

These old scenarios are still relevant in the first months of the second coming of Donald Trump.

Far-right governments in other representative governments worldwide still help with support for the Israeli defence arsenal with global encouragement from many corporate as well as strategic military and intel networks across the US Global Alliance. Politics was more adaptive to popular needs in 2017 after a two-year term in the White House from President Obama.

Malcolm Turnbull was still in control of the Australian ship of state. Dissident forces within the federal LNP sniffed the global wings of change ahead.

The coup within the LNP was finalized on 24 August 2018with the installation of Scott Morrison. This followed an unsuccessful leadership change against Malcolm Turnbull by Peter Dutton just three days earlier. Peter Dutton was rewarded with the key Defence Portfolio after March 2021. In this ministerial allocation, he became one of inner circle of four ministers who supported Prime Minister Morrison with AUKUS negotiations before the grim and financially crippling public announcement on 16 September 2021 (Joint media statement: Australia to pursue nuclear-powered submarines through new trilateral enhanced security partnership | Defence Ministers).

The arrival of Scott Morrison as Prime Minister was a part of a global shift in political alignment across the representative democracies in developed countries. There were exceptions to the wider global trends. Across the Tasman in NZ, thesustainable centre left achieved two terms in office under Jacinda Ardern (2017-23). Canada was firmly in the progressive liberal camp. However, Britain and most European countries swung with the Trump administration in a right leading direction. Britain had opted to leave the EU before the arrival of Boris Johnson as British Prime Ministerafter the resignation of Theresa May in 2019.

The Australian leadership coup against Malcolm Turnbull also pushed Australia towards a closer strategic and economic relationship with the USA during the first Trump administration. The significance of the leadership coup against Malcolm Turnbull was a watershed in Australian politics and followed a similar trajectory to the rise of Boris Johnson in Britain who was eager to implement Britain’s withdrawal from the EU with the support of a close referendum result in 2016.

There were similar far-right directions in Australian economic and strategic policies after the coup against Malcolm Turnbull.

Under Malcolm Turnbull’s guardianship, representatives from the Chinese PLA participated in a training exercise Pandaroo in Sydney in September as enthusiastically summarised by Nine News (26 September 2017):

China’s People’s Liberation Army was on Sydney Harbour today – but its mission was friendship, not war.

For just the second time in history, the Australian army has played host to its Chinese counterparts for training exercise Pandaroo.

“Trust is the basis of our militaries around the world and the friendships that are gained through doing things such as adventure training build those relationships,” said Brigadier Susan Doyle, Commander of the 6th Brigade in the Australian Army.

A year earlier representatives of the Chinese Navy (PLAN) participated in the maritime Exercise Kakadu as summarised by Gemini Google Bard:

The 2016 exercise, held off the coast of Darwin, involved 19 ships and submarines, 18 aircraft, and over 3,000 personnel from 19 nations, including Australia, Canada, France, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Singapore, Tonga, and the United States. While specific details of the PLAN’s participation were not extensively publicised, their presence was confirmed and viewed by Australian defense officials as a positive step.

The involvement of Chinese units in such a multilateral exercise, particularly one focused on maritime security and interoperability, provided a unique opportunity for direct interaction and shared learning between the PLAN and other regional navies. Such engagements, even if limited in scope, can contribute to a more nuanced understanding of operational procedures and foster a degree of familiarity that could be crucial in unforeseen maritime incidents

Even earlier China’s President Xi had made a triumphal visit to Australia as an extension to the G20 Summit in Brisbane that included an address to a Joint sitting of Parliament on 17 November 2014 to cheers from rural exporters, mining lobby groups and tourist operators.

In the second Trump administration (2021-26), strategic policies have been reinforced by new Tariff measures at rates which reward soft critics like the Albanese Government. In juxtaposition tariff rates of 35 percent are imposed on Canada with commitments to national sovereignty (The Guardian 1 August 2025):

Appeasement of President Trump is still a common agenda across the representative governments in developed countries. EU President Ursula van der Leyen set the tone of this appeasement in her meeting with Donald Trump in Scotland:

Ursula von der Leyen’s Turnberry golf course deal has been rightly called a capitulation and a humiliation for Europe. Assuming such an accord would put an end to Donald Trump’s coercion and bullying was either naive or the result of a miserable delusion. The EU should now steel itself and reject the terms imposed by Trump.

Is this deal really as bad as it sounds? Unfortunately, it is, for at least three reasons.

The blow to Europe’s international credibility is incalculable in a world that expects the EU to stand up for reciprocity and rules-based trade, to resist Washington’s coercion as Canada, China and Brazil have, rather than condoning it.

Economically, it’s a damaging one-way street: EU exporters lose market access in the US while the EU market is hit by more favoured US competition. Core European industrial sectors such as pharma and steel and aluminium are left by the wayside. The balance also tilts in the US’s favour in important sectors such as consumer goods, food and drink, and agriculture. Tariffs tend to stick, so this is long-term damage. The EU even gives up its right to respond to future US pressures through duties on digital services or network fees.

To top it off, von der Leyen’s defence and investment pledges (for which she had no mandate) go against Europe’s interest. The EU’s competitiveness predicament is precisely one of net investment outflows. As international capital now reallocates under the pressures of Trumponomics and a weakening dollar, the case for Europe to become a strategic investment power was strengthening. Von der Leyen’s promise of $600bn in EU investment in the US is therefore disastrous messaging.

Playing ball with the Trump administration also extends to the Keir Starmer’s Government in Britain which will be rewarded by the economic boom from Britain’s participation in the AUKUS deal as summarised by Google Bard:

Economically, AUKUS presents a substantial opportunity for a Starmer government to deliver on its promise of “kick-starting economic growth” and creating high-skilled jobs across the UK. The ambitious submarine program, specifically the SSN-AUKUS, necessitates a significant expansion of the UK’s defence industrial base.

This translates into substantial investment in shipyards like Barrow and manufacturing facilities such as Raynesway in Derby. Government projections already indicate the potential for up to £20 billion in exports over the next 25 years and the creation of over 7,000 new jobs in UK shipyards and across the supply chain, with over 21,000 people expected to work on the program at its peak.

This influx of investment and job creation aligns perfectly with Starmer’s domestic agenda, offering a tangible “defence dividend” of well-paid, highly skilled employment opportunities.

Beyond direct submarine construction, AUKUS also promotes collaboration on advanced capabilities in areas like cyber, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and undersea domains (Pillar II). This fosters innovation, drives technological advancements, and can spill over into broader economic sectors, enhancing the UK’s competitive edge in emerging technologies.

Events have confirmed a strengthening of Scenario One with its Triumph of Shared Might with an added partner in Britainwith a commitment to East of Suez defence commitments. The outcomes of Scenario One will of course depend on the outcomes to the Trump administrations future economic and strategic scenarios.

Here guesswork must prevail as astute leaders like President Ursula van der Leyen count the short-term economic costs of the Trump administration while still making sacrifices to support the administrations strategic agencies.

The ghosts of English King George III (Reigning 1760-1820) must be ecstatic about revival of the strategic accord across the Angloshpere under the surveillance of the Five Eyes Intelligence Unit which unites strategic consensus from Britain with the USA, Canada, Australia and NZ with support of most of the mainstream media.

The Australian Prime Minister’s legitimate caution on this issue should not horrify more outspoken sections of the Australian Left. PM Albanese will inevitably respond positively when more Australians mobilise to support Palestine in the context of the Light from the Bridge on 3 August 2025. Creating tensions in a potentially more progressive united from is a work in progress which needs to proceed smoothly for maximum effectiveness.

Key Faces in the Street from Australia Received International Media Recognition (Image from The Daily Telegraph)

Denis Bright (pictured) is a financial member of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). Denis is committed to consensus-building on the critical issues raised in each article. Your comments on this and related articles can be recorded on theaimn.net site.

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