This is our
country they’re messing with. The lack of judgement of the party room
and it’s failure or it’s inability or just plain stupidity and
determination to admit the problem, to read the room as it were as well
as the social and political cues, is about to take the nation (and the
Liberal Party) over the cliff.
It’s time the
leader of the Liberal Party was taken out of the hands of the party
room and elected by party members, as it’s quite apparent that the radar
of judgement of those in the hermetically sealed party room bubble is
awry and spinning wildly out of whack with middle Australia.
This exercise
in democracy would have the added bonus of increasing membership as it
would rengage the disenfranchised and disgruntled who feel betrayed and
simply expected to hand over their annual subs and man polling booths.
They would feel they had some ownership and interest in the party and
that they were being listened to.
Below is an extract from Ross Fitzgerald’s column in today’s Australian.
“…The federal
Coalition promised to end Labor’s political cannibalism but is led by
someone who cut down a democratically elected prime minister when the
polls were actually better than they are now. For much of last year, his
barrackers said Turnbull had to be supported because the alternative
was Shorten. Yet what’s becoming more and more obvious is that the
surest way to get Shorten as PM is to keep Turnbull as Liberal leader.
As they
contemplate their likely return to opposition, Liberal MPs’ present
thinking is that their worst option would be to imitate Labor by
restoring the leader who took them to government. For two years, to
justify the Turnbull coup, Tony Abbott has been rubbished as a poor
prime minister — even though border protection, free trade agreements,
national security and jobs growth remain the government’s strong suit.
Moreover, Turnbull’s failure has been explained by Abbott’s
destabilising — even though Abbott has every right to speak his mind
from the backbench.
Unlike Turnbull,
Abbott has a proven record as a campaigner and of the present crop is
the one political warrior who would encourage Hanson and Bernardi
voters to return, or at least feel comfortable directing preferences to
the Coalition. But why would Abbott want to come back to lead a party
that lacked the magnanimity to offer him a cabinet job and risk going
into history as an election loser?
Just before
parliament returns, Turnbull will most likely make a “reset” speech
proclaiming a new year of strong government and jobs growth. He’ll
promise gain without pain: personal income tax cuts paid for by a growth
dividend. If Shorten is smart, he’ll match this and say he can do it
responsibly by tackling the negative gearing and capital gains tax rorts
that “Mr Harbourside Mansion” wants to protect. Turnbull’s pitch will
boil down to “You can’t trust Shorten”, but that works only if voters
think they can trust Turnbull.
There’s no doubt
that the loss of 30 Newspolls (due in early April) will rock the
government. Julie Bishop may well test the waters only to conclude her
partyroom supporters are also Turnbull’s. Peter Dutton may similarly
test the waters, only to decline the deals with Bishop and other MPs
that would be needed to get the numbers. From the younger brigade,
there’s Josh Frydenberg, Christian Porter and Greg Hunt, but all three
need to accumulate more political capital and garner more parliamentary
support.
Source