It's a crude campaign that's been dubbed 'sexist' and 'disgusting'. But Jacinta Allan's pearl-clutching reaction is only going to make things worse, writes PETER VAN ONSELEN

By PETER VAN ONSELEN, POLITICAL EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 06:52, 10 June 2026 | Updated: 06:52, 10 June 2026 Jacinta Allan is understandably frustrated by the crude 'Ditch the Witch' campaign, but attempting to dismiss it as sexist risks backfiring. Pauline Hanson is many things, but accusing a female political veteran of misogyny feels desperate. Hanson, a woman who has endured decades of vicious, highly personalised political attacks (often from the very progressive forces now clutching their pearls), is an unlikely avatar for the patriarchy. The slogan is undeniably inappropriate, even if as Hanson says, she's faced far worse over the years. But Victorian Labor is making a fatal mistake if it thinks manufactured outrage over tone will protect it from genuine fury over substance. That's the real story in the southern state ahead of its November election. The biggest issue isn't an offensive billboard, or even Allan's personal unpopularity. Victoria represents the first serious electoral test of a national mood turning rapidly sour for the major parties. The Victorian election five months from now will test whether One Nation's surge is a passing protest or an unstoppable structural revolt.  Victoria isn't traditional One Nation heartland, that's for sure. It's urban, progressive, and historically resistant to Hanson's insurgency. The vans displaying billboards which show Allan dressed as a witch have circulated around the Melbourne CBD for about a month and have been partly funded by adult nightspot Gotham City  Yet One Nation is polling strongly enough to matter in both houses - and if Hanson can become a force in Victoria, she can be a force anywhere. Sixty-two per cent of voters think the Allan government is doing a bad job, according to Freshwater research, and 59 per cent believe the state is heading in the wrong direction. For a long-term government such findings are disastrous, yet the fractures on the right mean that a change of government isn't guaranteed. State debt is hurtling towards $200billion, eclipsing the combined debts of NSW, Queensland, and Tasmania. The government's solution has been a barrage of new levies, punishing property investors, businesses, and everyday families. Meanwhile, projects like the Suburban Rail Loop face astronomical cost blowouts while basic health and police services are stretched to breaking point. Trust in the government to manage state crime is at an all-time low. Voters do not need Pauline Hanson to tell them they are unhappy, she's simply harvesting the discontent Labor has sown. Sixty-two per cent of voters think the Allan government is doing a bad job, according to Freshwater research, and 59 per cent believe the state is heading in the wrong direction The more the government focuses on billboard tactics as a distraction, the more it looks desperate to change the subject away from its own failures over many years. Federally, the major parties should be paying close attention to the Victorian showdown. While Albo's government is more popular than Victorian Labor, the same underlying pressures exist, and his penchant for breaking promises has seen the PM's own dissatisfaction rating rise to 60 per cent. State failures can bleed into federal resentment. When voters feel poorer and less secure, they don't always neatly divide their anger between state and federal jurisdictions.  One Nation understands this blurred line better than the establishment seems to right now. The Coalition should be equally worried of course, if not more so. The primary vote for both major parties has been in long-term decline, and recent by-election results prove One Nation can win previously safe conservative seats with ease. Pauline Hanson's One Nation is on track to make massive strides in the upcoming Victorian election if strong polling numbers hold up  It's the Nationals who risk being eaten alive by the regional grievances they once took advantage of. If One Nation can break through in regional Victoria, it signals a collapse of old loyalties likely to then play out in NSW in March next year before doing the same at the federal election due within two years. Each contest will ask the same question: are voters merely irritated, or are they realigning for the longer term? Major parties like to believe protest votes are temporary flirtations that come and go. They tell themselves voters will vent their frustrations mid-term and return to the safety of the two-party system when the serious business of choosing a government arrives on election day. But such certainties no longer exist. If One Nation can do well at the state poll in Victoria this November, that's likely to be the low watermark for how it performs nationally after that. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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