One Nation Victoria has officially disendorsed its Preston candidate Franco Guardiani following the emergence of offensive social media posts. According to reports from The Guardian, the candidate’s private social media account described Adolf Hitler as the “GOAT”—an acronym standing for greatest of all time—in response to a post on X asking users to describe Hitler in one word.
In addition to the comments regarding Hitler, the posts included claims that “importing Islam is making pedophilia legal.” The Guardian also noted that the former candidate’s X account contained various Islamophobic statements, including references to bulldozing or setting fire to mosques, alongside engagement with posts by the anti-immigrant group Knights Templar International.
Party Response and Disendorsement of Franco Guardiani
The political party was alerted to the social media activity on Tuesday morning and swiftly removed the candidate shortly thereafter. Party officials spoke directly with Guardiani and confirmed the authenticity of the posts before taking decisive action.
Warren Pickering, the party’s Victorian leader, condemned the remarks in a strong statement to the press. “At a time when Jewish Australians are experiencing unprecedented persecution, we are appalled that these comments have been made,” Pickering said. “As soon as we became aware, we acted. Preston candidate Franco Guardiani is no longer part of our party. Anyone who holds such views is on notice: they do not have a place in One Nation.”
Vetting Questions and Political Fallout
The incident has raised questions regarding candidate vetting procedures. It remains unclear how Guardiani’s social media history bypassed the party’s selection process, particularly given that the party claims to have invested significant time and resources into improving candidate vetting protocols.
Following the swift disendorsement, Guardiani was removed from the official One Nation website as a candidate. Representatives for the Guardian reported that Guardiani was contacted for comment regarding the controversy, while the political landscape surrounding the upcoming Victorian election continues to navigate high-profile scrutiny and candidate controversies.
Source: One Nation dumps Victorian election candidate who praised Adolf Hitler as ‘GOAT’ (source-feed timestamp 2026-11-10T03:33:55+00:00). AI-assisted report based on the cited linked article and its RSS feed; details were not independently verified.
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