The Liberal Party is in desperate need of leadership.
The party – from frontbench parliamentarians down to rank and file members – usually let their leader do their thinking for them.
He’s lost his seat.
It is impossible to understate the dire circumstances of the party.
The Liberals are out of power everywhere. Their best and brightest strategists will get two weeks’ pay and then be out of work. The party does not look after its own. It has no institutions to park them in – unions, Hawker Brittons or whatever. The donations will evaporate. Their staff will scatter.
But who should be Liberal leader? Tony Abbott stands for too much. Brendan Nelson stands for nothing. Nelson assiduously wooed backbenchers and marginal MPs, always making himself available for functions. His supporters have lost their seats.
Alexander Downer could be an acceptable stopgap, but that would be all.
Malcolm Turnbull seems to be the man, a newcomer relatively untainted by the Howard years, but he will need to overcome enormous suspicion – let alone a ferocious whispering campaign from all sides on his past.
Still, he is from NSW – the Liberals Augean stables. George Megalogenis said this on Insiders yesterday:
I suspect Jackie Kelly tipped [Bennelong] over the line for Maxine McKew. Her performance that Thursday morning on AM radio… my understanding of the tracking polls, a few of them went mad on Thursday night. There was actually swings back to Labor in marginals where there were previously narrowings through the week.
The hard right Liberals John Howard indulged – or at least turned a blind eye to – have made the Liberals unelectable.
Malcolm Turnbull know this.
No, Howard’s cowards betrayed the right. There aren’t many cafe lattes in rural Queensland but Mal Brough result is a hint. Turnbull was a media darling for undermining Libs by pushing left’s political agenda but will now get media bias job done on him.
WANTED : A leader for the future Liberal Party. Successful applicant will be leader of a party bereft of ideas & direction. Applicant will provide his (I MEAN HIS) own moral compass. Glassy eyed followers will be supplied. Write care of LPA. Cheers
Malcolm Turnbull’s maiden speech raises the possibility of the dying of the West due to the low birth rate. Suggesting that the speech is racist is drawing a long bow, as he also makes several positive comments about multiculturalism and immigration.
Before the Liberal Party swamps Malcolm Turnbull with the tarnished crown read his maiden speech to Parliament. As fine a piece of racist crud as can be seen. Along the lines of white women should have more children, in order to out breed the Muslims. Ha
Christian, spot on. Rudd has captured the middle ground. Workchoices was the main issue and it could only have been thought up by the hard right. The Liberals can’t regain office unless the moderates regain control of the Party.