Key facts
- Pauline Hanson is meeting with controversial far-right figures in the UK as part of a strategy to build her global brand.
- Her meetings include pop star Holly Valance, Reform UK officials, and activist Tommy Robinson.
- Hanson will appear on an upcoming podcast with Tommy Robinson, also known as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
- Experts view these meetings as "pseudo events" designed to shift public debate to the right.
- One Nation actively seeks controversy and benefits from negative media coverage, according to researchers.
Pauline Hanson, leader of Australia's One Nation party, is strategically engaging with controversial far-right figures in the United Kingdom to enhance her international profile and brand, according to political experts. Her visit, described as a "fact-finding mission," includes meetings with personalities such as pop star Holly Valance, Reform UK officials, and the anti-Islamic activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
Hanson is set to appear on an upcoming podcast with Yaxley-Lennon, a move that experts suggest is a calculated "pseudo event." These events are designed to generate publicity and shift the parameters of public political debate further to the right, a tactic common among fringe political actors seeking to expand their influence.
Researchers note that Hanson's party, One Nation, does not shy away from controversy. Instead, it actively benefits from negative headlines, using them to foster a victim narrative against the establishment. This strategy allows them to connect with a broad audience, including apathetic or apolitical voters, through their own content creation, bypassing traditional media mediation.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor has warned voters against supporting One Nation, calling them a "one-person show" with "incoherent policies." However, experts suggest that with Hanson's rising popularity, her actions and alliances cannot be ignored. The strategy is seen as building international far-right alliances and signaling them to a wider audience. The approach aims to capture attention in the "attention economy" by leveraging shared hostility and normalizing certain ideas, even if those ideas are not explicitly detailed in media reports.