Via Paul Kelly today:
Malcolm Turnbull’s public comments from Indonesia confirm that Scott Morrison has no responsible option but the abandonment of his unwise, ill-considered and dangerous pre-Wentworth by-election announcement about the option of moving the Australian embassy to Jerusalem.
The real issue is obvious: it is Morrison’s competence as Prime Minister and his grasp of Australia’s national interest. The Jerusalem question is a vital test of his judgment. This issue has the potential to spiral out of control. The warning signs are everywhere and Morrison needs to listen — if he fails, given the existing adverse political climate, there are dire consequences for his government.
This is no time to pander to the small-minded, obsessive conservative lobby with its anti-Turnbull mania. Turnbull is not the issue. The issue is the future of Australia’s relations with Indonesia: whether we now have a government ignorant of two generations of experience in how to manage Jakarta, whether the trade agreement with Indonesia — that President Joko Widodo is prepared to sign — will survive, or whether relations will deteriorate suddenly.
The conservatives are clueless about what this means. If Indonesia pulls the plug on security co-operation and boatpeople — admittedly a last-resort option — the border protection policies much championed by conservatives are undermined on election eve. Does the government grasp the gravity of the situation?
Spot on. Moreover, if Morrison won’t backtrack then he appears to be a religious nutcase, something completely repugnant to Australians generally.
The Jerusalem move is political and policy suicide.
