In a party room ballot on Saturday morning, South Australian Liberals chose Alex Antic — a senator whose patient, branch-level organising over five years reflects a broader global pattern of populist movements reshaping centre-right parties from within. His victory over establishment candidate Nicola Centofanti signals that the tension between moderation and insurgency, long simmering in liberal democracies, has now reached one of Australia's oldest political institutions. The outcome raises a question familiar to many Western democracies: whether a mainstream conservative party can contain a
Right-wing senator Alex Antic wins South Australian Liberal presidency
Restore policy authority to members and reject net-zero orthodoxy
Mark
So Antic won the presidency of the South Australian Liberals. What does that actually mean for the party?
Mimi
It means he now chairs the party board, essentially—sets meeting agendas, oversees campaign prep. But the real significance is what it signals about where the party's base is moving.
Luke
Right, but let's be precise: he won a delegate ballot among roughly 200 State Council members. That's not the whole party membership, and we don't know the margin yet.
Mimi
True. But he built that support deliberately over five years, recruiting in local branches. That's not accidental.
Mark
And Centofanti had backing from moderates and conservatives who wanted to stop him. So this is a factional fight?
Mimi
Absolutely. Centofanti represented the establishment. Antic represents a rightward push—he's praised One Nation, he's a vaccine skeptic, he's crossed the floor repeatedly.
Luke
And One Nation's leader has said he'd welcome Antic into the party. That's not speculation—Bernardi actually said it on radio.
Mark
So there's a real possibility he could leave the Liberals?
Mimi
If his agenda gets blocked, yes. Some Liberals are already worried enough that they've discussed federal intervention to manage the division.
Luke
But we should note: Antic hasn't commented yet on his win. We don't know what his first moves will be or how Ashton Hurn, the parliamentary leader, will respond.
Mark
So this is a presidency that could reshape the party, or it could become a flashpoint for internal conflict.
Mimi
Exactly. The next few months will tell us whether Antic's recruitment drive translates into actual policy change or whether the party fractures.
Le Pouls
- Antic's win is the culmination of a five-year ground campaign, quietly stacking local branches with sympathetic delegates until Saturday's ballot made his patience visible.
- His record — vaccine scepticism, floor-crossing, open admiration for Trump and One Nation figures — has already pushed some Liberals to float the drastic step of federal intervention in the SA division.
- One Nation's SA leader Cory Bernardi has publicly said he would 'welcome him at any turn,' leaving defection on the table as a live pressure valve if Antic's agenda meets internal resistance.
- Moderate parliamentary leader Ashton Hurn must now govern alongside a state president whose platform on climate, energy, and cultural policy may directly contradict his own.
- The party closed its annual general meeting to media, and Antic has yet to speak publicly, leaving the full shape of his presidency — and its consequences — still unresolved.
In a party room ballot on Saturday morning, South Australian Liberals chose Alex Antic — a senator whose patient, branch-level organising over five years reflects a broader global pattern of populist movements reshaping centre-right parties from within. His victory over establishment candidate Nicola Centofanti signals that the tension between moderation and insurgency, long simmering in liberal democracies, has now reached one of Australia's oldest political institutions. The outcome raises a question familiar to many Western democracies: whether a mainstream conservative party can contain a right-wing insurgency, or whether it will be reshaped — or fractured — by it.
Alex Antic, a senator known for his vaccine scepticism, admiration for Donald Trump, and sympathy toward One Nation, has been elected president of the South Australian Liberal Party. On Saturday morning, delegates voted him ahead of Nicola Centofanti, the Upper House leader who carried the backing of the party's moderate and establishment wings.
The result was not a sudden upset but the product of deliberate effort. Over five years, Antic cultivated relationships across local party branches, building enough support among the roughly 200 State Council delegates to prevail — though the margin of his win has not been released. His opponents had hoped to hold the line; his supporters had been quietly organised for years.
Antic has long been an uncomfortable presence within Liberal ranks. He has praised One Nation figures, repeatedly crossed the floor against Coalition positions, and staked out vocal stances on vaccines and culture-war issues that have made him a lightning rod. Anxiety about his rise has been serious enough that some Liberals have discussed federal intervention to manage the SA division.
That anxiety has a sharper edge given the signals from One Nation's SA leader Cory Bernardi, who told radio he would welcome Antic 'at any turn' — a comment that keeps defection alive as a possibility if Antic's agenda meets resistance inside the Liberal tent.
In his pitch to delegates, Antic framed his presidency as a mandate to restore policy authority to members, reject 'net-zero orthodoxy,' and defend what he called the country's cultural inheritance. The challenge now falls to moderate parliamentary leader Ashton Hurn, who must work alongside a state president whose vision may sharply diverge from his own. Whether Antic's five-year organising effort translates into genuine policy change — or deepens the party's internal fractures — is the question his presidency leaves open.
Alex Antic, a senator known for his skepticism of vaccines and admiration for Donald Trump, has won control of the South Australian Liberal Party. On Saturday morning, delegates of the party voted him into the role of state president, a position roughly equivalent to chairing a company board. He defeated Nicola Centofanti, the Upper House leader, who had the backing of moderates and conservatives hoping to block his ascent.
Antic's victory was not inevitable. Centofanti represented the party's establishment wing—those who wanted to prevent what some feared would be a rightward lurch. Yet Antic had spent five years methodically building support in local party branches, cultivating relationships among the roughly 200 State Council delegates who cast ballots. That patient organizing work paid off on Saturday morning, though the party has not yet released the margin of his win.
The senator has been a prominent figure in parliament, though not always a comfortable one for his own party. He has praised members of One Nation, the right-wing populist party, and has repeatedly crossed the floor to vote against Coalition positions. He has expressed admiration for Trump and has been vocal in his skepticism of vaccines. These positions have made him a lightning rod within Liberal circles. Some party members have even discussed whether the federal party should intervene to take over management of the South Australian division, a sign of how much anxiety his rise has generated.
One Nation's South Australian leader, Cory Bernardi, has made clear he would welcome Antic into his party. The two were photographed sharing a beer during the March state election campaign. When asked about the possibility of Antic joining One Nation, Bernardi told local radio he would "welcome him at any turn," calling him "a great political talent." That comment hints at the real tension beneath Antic's new role: if his agenda faces resistance within the Liberal Party, defection to One Nation remains a possibility.
In a written pitch to delegates before the ballot, Antic promised to "restore policy authority to members" and to chart a course that rejects what he called "net-zero orthodoxy." He wrote that the party needed to "stand up for the cultural inheritance of this country" and to treat One Nation not by copying its positions but by proving the Liberals could still be the vehicle for the values that draw voters to the right. That framing suggests he sees his presidency as a mandate to reshape the party's direction on climate, energy, and cultural issues.
The challenge ahead is real. Ashton Hurn, the moderate leader of the South Australian Liberals in parliament, now has to work with a state president whose policy vision may diverge sharply from his own. Antic has not yet commented publicly on his election, and the party did not allow media into Saturday's annual general meeting. Alex Hyde, the party's state director, issued a brief statement confirming the result and saying the new president would convene the state executive soon. What happens next—whether Antic's five-year recruitment effort translates into actual policy change, or whether the party's internal divisions deepen—remains to be seen.
Citations marquantes
I would welcome him at any turn. He's a great political talent.— Cory Bernardi, One Nation SA leader, on Alex Antic
We need economic action on inflation, housing and energy without surrendering to net-zero orthodoxy and we need to stand up for the cultural inheritance of this country.— Alex Antic, in his pre-ballot pitch to delegates
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