An unsavoury political menage a trois is heating up a month out from the WA election, but both the major parties will be hoping the sex tape doesn't see the light of day.
Only a few months ago, One Nation's dance card was all but empty, but now both the Liberals and Labor are lining up with bouquets and chocolates, trying to sweep Pauline Hanson off her feet.
And with a recent Newspoll in The Australian showing PHON could get 13 per cent of the primary vote, the major parties will scramble over each other trying to be the first to jump into bed with One Nation.
We are constantly told politics makes strange bedfellows, but given both the Liberals' and Labor's open disdain for One Nation's policies in the past, the parties cutting a direct preference deal with PHON could mean the weirdest bedmates ever in a WA election.
I mean, there had been moments of titillation and flirtation between Labor, the Liberals and PHON, but most of us just assumed it wouldn't turn into any hanky-panky.
But last week, the unlikely dalliance steamed up, with Labor and the Liberals refusing to rule out any preference deals.
Labor leader Mark McGowan even tried to seduce One Nation voters, claiming his party and PHON had a lot in common with their shared opposition to the $11 million sale of Western Power and the protection of local jobs.
And with One Nation surging in the polls, the Liberal party will be wining and dining PHON over coming days, because without an agreement the Coalition cannot win a third term.
A report in an eastern states newspaper says the Liberals are expected to toss aside their policy of putting One Nation last on how-to-vote cards, placing it as high as second in some seats - ahead of their government partners the Nationals - under a swap.
Mr Barnett told reporters last week he hoped One Nation would preference the Liberals ahead of Labor at the March state election, but said he was not involved in preference deals.
"I imagine in some seats we will; I imagine in some seats One Nation will give their preferences to the Labor party ahead of the Liberal party," Mr Barnett said.
"As I've said several times, I expect in pretty well every seat, the Liberal party will either come first or second. In other words, our preferences will never be allocated."
If the Liberals do decide to walk down the altar with One Nation where does that leave their longstanding relationship with the Nationals? That 'marriage' has been on the rocks over the past year over the Nationals' stance on the mining tax, but everyone expected the Liberals to kiss and make up before the election.
Notre Dame University political expert Martin Drum said it was fascinating watching Labor and the Liberals wooing One Nation, given both parties' criticism of PHON's racial and anti-immigration policies.
Dr Drum said of late, both parties had gone soft on One Nation.
He said the Liberals had always put One Nation last, so any direct deals with PHON would be unprecedented.
He said if the Liberals did place One Nation ahead of the Nationals across the board, the Coalition "coupling" was on shaky ground.
"It does show how worried they are by Hanson's rise," he told WAtoday.
"What I found most extraordinary about this report is the possibility that the Liberals could preference One Nation ahead of their own alliance partners in government. This demonstrates how strained the relationship is between the Liberals and Nationals."
Dr Drum said the biggest beneficiaries of any preference deal with PHON would be One Nation.
While he predicts One Nation would hold the balance of power in the Upper House, there is the real possibility PHON now could pick up as many as four Lower House seats.
"I'm tipping One Nation to win a seat in each of the three regional Upper House regions," he said.
"They are an outside chance in a number of lower house regional seats such as Pilbara, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie where the vote will be split three to four ways. They would have to outpoll the other conservative parties though, because I'm not sure they would get many preferences from Labor or the Greens.
"Long shot, but not completely impossible."
Nationals leader Brendon Grylls joked to reporters last week supporting One Nation was a bit like buying a Chiko roll.
"You look in the bain-marie, it looks sort of enticing, you decide to buy it ... you take a bite of it, you're disappointed and then you end up regretting it," he said.
Stale Chiko rolls aside, even Mr Grylls can't ignore the rise of the party that - ironically - was born out of a fish and chip shop in Ipswich, NSW.
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