Public opinion, privatisation and the electoral politics of Telstra

During the 1996 election campaign, the Liberal-National Party Coalition ple dged that if elected it would partly privatise Telstra, The pledge was a ce ntral part of its campaign pitch This paper argues that the proposal came a t a time when the tide of public opinion had moved against privatisation; i t shows how the Opposition used poll data both to present its own proposal in the most favourable light and to portray the difference between its posi tion and that of Labor Government's as minimal; and, using the surveys comm issioned by both sides, it evaluates the success of this strategy. More gen erally, it suggests that in a "postideological" age, party ideology remains important. And it illustrates how polls can be used by parties not just to establish what the majority thinks but to galvanise support, neutralise op position and convert those who harbour doubts.