POLITICAL integrity can take something of a bruising in federal elections. There's a lot at stake and, on occasion, it seems like principles can be parked in the back seat while political pragmatism takes the wheel for a frantic spin around the block.
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There can be no better example of this than the Nationals' preference deal with One Nation at the forthcoming election. It's a desperate and, in some eyes, disappointing move.
Party leader Michael McCormack has made his position clear - he will do what he believes he has to do to win seats, and he'll deal with whatever repercussions come his and his party's way at a later date.
Whether the preferencing of Pauline Hanson's party is an astute political move or not, only time will tell, but the fallout within the electorates the Nationals are so desperate to win could prove to be more long-term than the party's powerbrokers realise.
McCormack's "do what it takes to win" justification is one thing, but he really doubled down when he made the observation that the Nationals' policies had more in common with One Nation than they did with Labor or The Greens.
That assertion will be hard to swallow for many thousands of Nationals supporters, because by association it aligns them with the extreme right wing of Australian politics (which in some people's judgement also represents the least intelligent component of it).
When claiming the relationship between his party and One Nation was based on a set of shared policies, it would have been useful had the Deputy Prime Minister had told us what those shared policies were.
Helpful, because most of us struggle to get a handle on what One Nation policies are, apart from freeing up gun laws and hard-line immigration objectives.
The point has also been made that on the back of a push for migrant workers and families to settle in regional Australia, the Nationals' alignment with One Nation doesn't look much like a welcoming invitation, or a promise of positive political representation.
McCormack knows that his credibility is on the line at this election with Barnaby "I will be cleared" Joyce snapping away at his heels. Forget his party's prospects - he personally needs a good result to shore up his own future leadership prospects.
But getting into bed with One Nation looks like a questionable means to that end.
