One Nation Victoria has formally withdrawn the endorsement of Franco Guardiani, the party’s candidate for the Preston electorate, following the discovery of a series of offensive social media posts. The posts, which were made on the candidate’s private X account, included praise for Adolf Hitler, labeling him the “GOAT” (greatest of all time), and remarks that importing Islam would “make pedophilia legal.”
Guardiani’s account also contained a number of Islamophobic statements, such as calls to “bulldoze” or set fire to mosques, and it had interacted with content from the anti‑immigrant group Kights Templar International. The party’s Victorian leader, Warren Pickering, expressed that the comments were “appalling” and that “anyone who holds such views is on notice: they do not have a place in One Nation.”
The party learned of the posts on Tuesday morning and acted quickly, announcing that Guardiani was no longer a One Nation candidate. A party official confirmed that the posts were genuine and that the candidate had been contacted for comment. Guardiani’s name has been removed from the party’s official website.
One Nation has stated that it has invested time and money into improving its candidate vetting processes, though it remains unclear how Guardiani’s extremist history was not identified during the initial selection. The party’s swift response underscores its stance against extremist rhetoric and its commitment to maintaining a respectful political discourse.
Source: The Guardian World
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