Why I'm glad Australia has to choose between Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten for PM.

There’s been a lot to unpack during this year’s federal election campaign, namely because there are way too many candidates who didn’t realise wiping their social media footprint is definitely a thing you should do before entering politics.

With two weeks left of an already exhausting five week (and two day) long campaign, we’ve already seen lots of bright yellow billboards for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and acted a tiny bit surprised when One Nation candidate Steve Dickson was caught saying horribly sexist and racist things while out at a US night club.

But there is one thing that this election campaign is missing (and it becomes even more glaringly obvious when you look across the Tasman Sea).

Everything you need to know about political scandals, such as those that have plagued this election, come to be. Post continues below. 

There are two men hoping to lead their parties to election victory. Two men who are fighting, as leaders of the two major parties, to be Prime Minister.

And they’re both a bit… meh.

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten are two men-in-suits who elicit excitement in precisely no one. ABC‘s Vote Compass, which compiles data about the election, ranks them both below 5/10 for likeability and trustworthiness – with undecided voters unable to see much of a difference between the two.

No matter how many times they engage in a bit of ‘beer and banter’, hang out with sports teams or smile with babies, no one is going to the voting booths yelling “I JUST REALLY LIKE SCOTT MORRISON” or “I JUST REALLY LIKE BILL SHORTEN”.

There’s certainly no ‘ScoMomania’ here.

But look, while it's a bit disappointing to know Australia's next prime minister is going to be rather bland no matter how voting pans out, it's not the worst thing.

Hear us out.

Although neither Morrison and Shorten provoke a flurry of excitement among Australian voters over their leadership, what this means is there's no personality politics, because there's, uh, no personalities.

Voters, particularly undecided voters who are not attached to one specific party, are forced to look beyond the (lack off) charisma on display.

What issues matter most to me? What parties policies most align with my values? Where does each party stand on climate change? What are they actually going to do?

In turn, the parties actually have to give voters more than just a smiley leader.

Party leaders stand out only if they're very good or very bad. And both very good and very bad get the pubic fired up and active.

Without that, voters must fall back on what, after all, should matter most in any election: Policy.

And that can only be a good thing.

For more on this topic:

• Election 2019: Who you should vote for, based on the issues you care about.
• 11 embarrassing things election candidates have been caught doing in the last week.
• We asked 97 young Aussie women how they’re really deciding who to vote for.