|  Good morning Gurpartap, Some years ago I was talking to a friend who was the head of a Labor think tank — and the thoughts he was thinking were troubling him. "Why can't the left be patriotic?" he asked. These were dark days for the Labor Party. Bill Shorten had just lost the unlosable election to Scott Morrison and Chris Minns was yet to take over as leader in NSW, where the ALP had been foundering for a decade. Meanwhile Donald Trump had surged to the US presidency for the first time on a wave of unbridled nationalism. And the more the left sneered at figures like Trump and Morrison for their flag-waving, the more it seemed like loving your country had become the domain of the right. And this is what pissed off my mate: Left-wing urban elites turning their noses up at patriotic sentiments when in fact the centre-left should be embracing, celebrating and proclaiming national pride. All of this is a very 21st century phenomenon and it is no coincidence that the public takeover of the Western left by globally focussed activist elites — see "Greta Thunberg" and "Academics on Twitter" — has corresponded with an exodus of the working class and the rise of right-wing populism. Even the spectacular failure of the Voice campaign just two years ago can basically be summed up as the utter rejection of identity politics progressivism by plain and simple patriotism. It is almost impossible to reconcile this vision of the left with the image of Bob Hawke squeezed into a green and gold jacket and squawking with delight at Australia II's victory in the Americas Cup. Or indeed the ultimate Labor patriot John Curtin, who unashamedly put Australia's national interest first during World War II and in so doing literally saved the country. But in recent months Labor has begun to reclaim patriotism and it is again no coincidence that Anthony Albanese chose to do this at the John Curtin Oration in July this year. In his speech the PM openly spoke of embracing "progressive patriotism" and noted that Curtin pivoted from the UK to the US in 1941 not because he was pro-American but because he was pro-Australian. Indeed, this comment was singled out for criticism for being too strident and not deferential enough to the US at a time when Albanese was yet to secure a meeting with Trump. And when the right is accusing the left of being too patriotic you know that something has changed. Indeed, the perception that the ultimate Australia-first figure Peter Dutton was too pro-Trump and not enough pro-Australia was a major factor in him losing the election and his seat in the bargain. In other words, Australians love Australia — and they will punish any politician they think doesn't love it enough. Unsurprisingly this is exactly the sentiment that has come through loud and clear in the research for this masthead's Back Australia campaign, a massive initiative that ranges from the economic benefits of buying Australian made to the need to bolster local manufacturing for the sake of our national security and sovereignty. Because patriotism isn't just a warm and fuzzy feeling, it is vital to a nation's survival. My friend's lament that there wasn't enough patriotism in the Labor Party was one of many conversations that have been taking place for years inside the ALP. Those conversations have now become declarations at the apex of Labor's success. Once more, this is no coincidence. A strong national economy, a strong national border and a strong sense of national pride should never be anathema to the Labor Party. They should be at its very heart. As a potential future prime minister recently told me of a former prime minister, John Howard saying "We will decide who comes to our country and the circumstances in which they come" should never have been seen as a controversial statement. It should simply have been seen as a statement of fact. Snooty inner-city elites might still sneer at national pride but they were wrong before and they are wrong today. But the most important thing is that they are not in control. We are. | 
Joe Hildebrand
