Australians love a ‘battler’.

Images of shearers, Anzacs, and gold diggers are deeply entrenched in our history.

Politicians know that too. Why else do we see them in hard hats and high visibility vests?

But a couple of moments in this election campaign have hit a nerve. They came from a blue blood Liberal candidate in Melbourne, and the opposition leader’s son in a press conference in Brisbane.

Today, Frank Bongiorno, professor of history at the Australian National University, on what happens when members of the political class play down their wealth, in order to commune with the common people.

 

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