Bring him back! At The Australian:
The Liberal Party is so demoralised by Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership that some in its upper echelons are now contemplating the previously unthinkable in the event of a shock election defeat: a return to Tony Abbott.
The situation inside the Liberal Party is so volatile that if it doesn’t win a convincing election victory — and at this stage the contest is too close to definitively call — the party will be engulfed in another bout of soul-destroying turmoil and Turnbull will be blamed.
I’ve been surprised at the extent of the despair in Liberal ranks. You don’t have to go very far to find it. Past and present MPs, party officials and staffers freely offer up criticisms of the Prime Minister and the Liberal campaign strategy unprompted. Many of these views are being aired on television, radio and social media, and in newspapers and magazines.
On the campaign trial, Bill Shorten looks confident and is having fun. His issues are dominating: health costs, school funding, negative gearing, superannuation and penalty rates. His messages are sharp and his policies are understood. Labor’s campaign is far from faultless but overall, it is winning the contest so far.
In contrast, Turnbull appears wooden and awkward when meeting voters. He is not a natural politician. The Coalition’s TV advertisements fail to excite and they are losing the increasingly important social media campaign where many voters get their news. The “jobs and growth” slogan is not resonating with voters worried about health, education and cost of living.
It’s actually a far more realistic a prospect than it appears when one considers the post-election environment. The sovereign rating is going to be stripped within months as the Budget of Lies is exposed and that is going to trigger an huge wave of angst among Coalition troglodytes. Tony Abbott’s 2014 “budget emergency” will be seen as visionary.
As well, it is possible, indeed likely even, that it will be a minority government that has to make progressive concessions to small party partners. If Turnbull leads that kind of travelling circus you can just imagine the kind destabilisation that will result from his conservative rump.
Cousin PVO can see it:
Yesterday’s Newspoll indicates that what should have been the Coalition’s worst-case scenario at this election is fast becoming its best case — that is, a narrow victory that puts Malcolm Turnbull under pressure as soon as the results are known.
The worst-case scenario is now a humiliating defeat at the hands of an Opposition Leader whom all and sundry on the conservative side regarded as unelectable.
Whatever former prime minister Tony Abbott’s polling woes were, the pitch for calm by his inner circle was that Bill Shorten was unelectable. When the transition to Turnbull saw the new Prime Minister’s ratings rise immediately to stratospheric levels, dragging the party vote north as well, Shorten’s unelectability became more pronounced.
The situation has changed dramatically.
Bring Tony back, I say. He is at least honestly dishonest which is much preferable to dishonestly honest. When confronted with a choice between the criminal and the crooked cop, I’ll take the former.
