Can Turnbull be his own man?
After the predictable crash dive in the Polls following a week of Utegate, Malcolm Turnbull is possibly looking to reshuffle the Opposition Front Bench. It's actually a good opportunity to sweep out the Old Guard of Howard loyalists and move the party forward but it's more likely he will bring back those good old fashioned guys who helped lose the last election.
Despite the flashing red lights of the opinion polls, the Libs have not noticed they are not offering what the Public want to hear. A good question for them to ponder would be this.
Do the Voters want to see a start on addressing Climate Change, or would they rather be watching a slanging match across the dispatch box?
Not surprisingly, this question has not been asked in the Party room. With all the internal politics going on, the Voters wishes are running a very distant second. They seem to think the last election was an aberration rather than folk waking up to the fact that they didn't have a say in where the country was headed. It's a simply but logical concept. Aussies don't especially want to steer the country they just dont want the incumbent to take it in the wrong direction. Howard got it wrong so they got the boot. They haven't changed direction so why would the same Voters swing back?
It's an odd attitude that. Trusting that someone will vote for you because you belong to the Liberal party rather than what you stand for is asking a lot. Howard "embraced" the Workers and then he slapped them with Work Choices. Folk who hated to see children thrown in jail (and this includes plenty of traditional Liberal voters) got to see their cries ignored as asylum seekers and their kids were interred. Folk who wanted us to move towards a sustainable, environmentally responsible Economy just got nay sayers and a thin facade the Voters saw straight through. It doesn't leave much support to draw on. It wasn't enough to win the last election and it has softened since then.
So who will get promoted if a reshuffle occurs? If Tony Abbott comes to the crease then we are back to the "old school". Of course Kevin 07 would be delighted to see Tony back after Tony's expert help in making Kevin so popular but that 50's style of playing the man is clearly out of favour with the Public.
The funny familiar faces will show the voting public that the ghost of Howard still lurks within the party and unless they start to show some grasp of the current world and a rejection of policies past, they could be spending a long time electing "The best man who never led the country".
A splendid example exists of what can happen. The Democrats decided not to punish Meg Lees for not "Keeping the Bastards Honest" and their support base withered away to vanishing point. Now the Libs have higher starting numbers and eventually the cream will rise to the top but they still have some hard yards to go especially if they keep gazing into the rear view mirror.
Despite the flashing red lights of the opinion polls, the Libs have not noticed they are not offering what the Public want to hear. A good question for them to ponder would be this.
Do the Voters want to see a start on addressing Climate Change, or would they rather be watching a slanging match across the dispatch box?
Not surprisingly, this question has not been asked in the Party room. With all the internal politics going on, the Voters wishes are running a very distant second. They seem to think the last election was an aberration rather than folk waking up to the fact that they didn't have a say in where the country was headed. It's a simply but logical concept. Aussies don't especially want to steer the country they just dont want the incumbent to take it in the wrong direction. Howard got it wrong so they got the boot. They haven't changed direction so why would the same Voters swing back?
It's an odd attitude that. Trusting that someone will vote for you because you belong to the Liberal party rather than what you stand for is asking a lot. Howard "embraced" the Workers and then he slapped them with Work Choices. Folk who hated to see children thrown in jail (and this includes plenty of traditional Liberal voters) got to see their cries ignored as asylum seekers and their kids were interred. Folk who wanted us to move towards a sustainable, environmentally responsible Economy just got nay sayers and a thin facade the Voters saw straight through. It doesn't leave much support to draw on. It wasn't enough to win the last election and it has softened since then.
So who will get promoted if a reshuffle occurs? If Tony Abbott comes to the crease then we are back to the "old school". Of course Kevin 07 would be delighted to see Tony back after Tony's expert help in making Kevin so popular but that 50's style of playing the man is clearly out of favour with the Public.
The funny familiar faces will show the voting public that the ghost of Howard still lurks within the party and unless they start to show some grasp of the current world and a rejection of policies past, they could be spending a long time electing "The best man who never led the country".
A splendid example exists of what can happen. The Democrats decided not to punish Meg Lees for not "Keeping the Bastards Honest" and their support base withered away to vanishing point. Now the Libs have higher starting numbers and eventually the cream will rise to the top but they still have some hard yards to go especially if they keep gazing into the rear view mirror.
Comments
He can't fit the Howard shape and nor should he. I think Costello realised he would have had the same problem if he had taken over. Being pro Republic in the Libs is fraught with danger and bound to be unsettling.