The 2022 campaign has become a game of “spot the election comparison”. Is it like 2019, when Scott Morrison ran down a Labor lead? Is it like 2007 or 1996, when a mood for change swept the nation and threw longstanding governments out the door? Or is it like 2010 or 2016 when troubled, divided governments clung to minority status?
Today’s offering in the “which election was that?” game was Morrison declaring that he would change his style and political personality after the election, after blaming the pandemic for the personality flaws that, it is painfully clear, the Liberal Party’s campaign focus groups must be showing are top of mind for voters.
Asked about his poor relationship with voters today, Morrison offered a departure from the previous “I’m like a dentist, you may not like me but you need me” rhetoric. Instead, we got:
You know, over the last three years and particularly the last two what Australians have needed from me going through this pandemic has been strength and resilience. Now, I admit that hasn’t enabled Australians to see a lot of other gears in the way I work. And I know Australians know that I can be a bit of a bulldozer when it comes to issues and I suspect you guys know that too … that doesn’t mean — because as we go into this next period on the other side of this election, I know there are things that are going to have to change with the way I do things.
Which immediately brings to mind Julia Gillard’s “real Julia” from the 2010 campaign. After Kevin Rudd blew up that campaign by leaking against Gillard, ending her thumping poll lead over Tony Abbott, Gillard’s campaign team looked for ways to reset, and settled on an interview with then-Fairfax journalists promising that voters would now see “the real Julia”.
The immediate problem, apparently unanticipated by Labor, was the question “real Julia” prompted — had she been “fake Julia” all this time, and had only decided to unmask herself because she was worried she was going to lose the election? It went down like a lead zeppelin in a campaign that left neither side with a majority. “Real Julia” was never mentioned by Labor again — but the Liberals sure didn’t forget it.
Morrison, at least, isn’t offering “real ScoMo”. He’s saying the real ScoMo is obviously a problem and instead voters will get “New, Improved ScoMo”. A “kinder, gentler ScoMo”, perhaps. But only after the election — presumably until next Saturday we’ll get the business-as-usual, aggressive, dog-whistling, divisive, lying ScoMo.
What’s fascinating about the change of tack is that it comes so late in the campaign, and comes many months after it became apparent that female voters have a major problem with Morrison. Has the diagnosis within the Liberal campaign team changed, and they’ve only now woken up to the threat Morrison himself poses to the reelection of the government? Did Wednesday night’s debate, apparently won convincingly by Anthony Albanese among undecided voters, prompt a rethink about why Morrison is alienating so many voters? Or is this merely a different solution to a problem they’ve known for a long time, but initially decided to address via the “you may not like me but you respect me” line?
We may find out after the election. The tradition in Australian politics is that, after the election, the respective campaign directors address the National Press Club about their campaigns and what worked and what didn’t. The timing of “new ScoMo” will undoubtedly be a question directed at Liberal director Andrew Hirst — who masterminded the surprise 2019 win and, who knows, might yet pull off another miracle with “new ScoMo”.
But as with “real Julia”, you can bet the opposition will have a field day with it. Especially the bulldozer bit — it didn’t take Albanese very long to home in on that. “A bulldozer wrecks things. A bulldozer knocks things over. I’m a builder,” he said when asked about Morrison’s statement. And then the kicker: “The prime minister is putting his hand up and saying, ‘I’ll change.’ Well, if you want change, change the government on 21 May.”
He sounds just like a domestic violence perpetrator.
So we made him do it?
See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse/ Jess Hill
Carlton, VIC : Black Inc. 2019
ISBN: 9781760641405 1760641405
LC: HV6626.23.A8 H55 2019
A chapter called The perpetrator’s handbook is very interesting!
Yep, the rhetoric is pretty well identical.
As in, “I know that I’ve been a bit of a bastard in the past, but really I can change. And I’m only doing it because I care. And do you really think that you’re going to do any better? I mean, look at him.”
Mea non culpa.
Standard DV script, word for word but so many fall for it, personally & politically.
I’m waiting for the tears.
With him, the tears never fully form. He only gets as far as looking like he’s struggling to hold back the tears. A few times I’ve seen it, where an interviewer has changed the subject and all signs of a troubled emotional state vanished instantly. Which suggests to me, that the sad feeling may not have been all that genuine.
A complete sociopath.
Keen observation, very true.
With the increased understanding of abusive behaviour, how to recognise it as well as the rampant abusive behaviour, I doubt many women will fall for this and just see it for what it is. We’re really not in the 50s anymore, no matter how much the coalition wants it to be.
By the end of the campaign, perhaps he’ll progress to the 70s, by exclaiming, “I’ve tried everything, what do you chicks want!”
And just as believable. I know, I married one, they do not change.
He is. His record is of hectoring, bullying and gaslighting the Australian populace.
Looks like Crikey is getting to be as bad as SMH at censoring.
I thought exactly the same thing. Should work wonders with women voters.
It fits with his body language in the interview where Jen took all the blame for his poor decision making. Having experienced Coercive Control, I believe we are looking right at it.
Still incapable of accepting responsibilityy, instead passing the blame onto a virus, that’s right, a virus. Do people find that a bit weird?
The arguement appears to be like that of a domestic abuser – your honour it was the drink that made me do it, let me off and I will change, but still drink.
However, the important thing here is the admission. All the state Premiers were under enormous pressure, much greater than that of Morrison who was a bomb thrower claiming credit for the work of the Premiers, even going to the High Court with Palmer of all things. Those same Premiers were, generally, cooperative, patient and concerned for the welfare of their people. By his own admission, Morrison was incapable of that, so, in the state of a pandemic he has admitted he failed his primary duty, to enable Australians to work together to survive the viral onslaught. He admits he failed, so if there was any contrition or sense of responsibility, he wouldn’t say “give my my job and I will change”, he would simply resign.
The only people who would believe this weird admission will be the sycophants of the Press Gallery and their masters, I was torn between wetting myself laughing or vomiting when I read this, then I remembered Morrison isn’t worth it.
Mental health check required for this RWNJ aka PM Morrison
There is an R missing there, RWRNJ, the second being Religious…Both Smirko and RobDebt Stuart are Pentecostalists are as others in the government fold.
There is no place for science and no recognition of human-induced global heating in Pentecostal theology. There would apparently be no point in mortal Pentecostals trying to listen and respond to the cry of the Earth because the fate of our planet and its life is considered out of their hands.
There is but a chiliastic eschatology also now wrapped up in the so called Prosperity Gospel that has all the true believers, that is those that are Pentecostalists will be taken from the earth by The Rapture.
While all others, atheists together with those that follow any other religion or cult , Christian or otherwise will be subject to The Great Tribulation…where they will all experience worldwide hardships, disasters, famine, war, pain, and suffering, which will wipe out most of all life on the earth before the Second Coming takes place.
Could it be that the prime minister in his heart is – unlike the overwhelming majority of Australians – not concerned with the prospect of any coming catastrophe when his own salvation is assured?
A lot of ‘ born again’s ‘ believe similarly and are often as heartless but perhaps, at least do ‘ good works’. Education seems to be wasted on a lot of people! What they believe is more important to them.
There is a problem here, as with close to one million deaths from Covid in the US alone, let alone five or so million world wide.
Not all will be protestant Christian but The Rapture, according to Revelation 7 KJV, has it that there are only to be 144,000 saved.
Consider that there are many varieties of Protestants, as well as Mormons, Unitarians, many and varied Evangelistic and Pentecostalist Cults and Seventh Day Adventists that are all of The Rapture Persuasion.
Now given that the numbers of dead of the above will surely exceed that figure, might there not be much jostling at the Pearly Gates?
So it might Best Dressed etc. First Raptured…for when Israel invaded the Lebanon, yet again, in the 2006 Lebanon War, there were reports of women in the USA from Evangelistic and Pentecostalist Cults going out to get their hair and nails done to be prepared for The Rapture.
Bravo
I smile to think of ScoMo being excited to go to the MCG for the footy and getting egg on his face when Covid led to a lockdown he didn’t believe in. Thank God NSW and VIC led the Commonwealth by the nose.
I cry when I recall all the deaths in Aged Care for which his Government WAS directly responsible for AND his continued truculence in improving the extremely poorly paid staff in the aged care sector – many who worked across different locations out of financial necessity. Their continued failures in this area, and the deaths caused, necessitate an urgent Royal Commission. Now that Australia has ‘opened up’ it appears our per capita incidence of Covid is amongst the highest in the world which is becoming a bit of a concern, albeit without a high death rate.
As at 18/4/22, federal Dept of Health figures were around 4,540 COVID DEATHS this year, far more than deaths in 2020 and 2021 combined ie. at a RECORD high. A damaging and inconvenient fact for the LNP mid election campaign, the mainstream media gave it cursory, radar blip attention.
So we have a scary national tragedy, taking huge numbers of Oz citizens lives, many in aged care or who are vulnerable, and our media does not treat it as a major story. It’s just not like them to avoid a national tragic story involving fear and insecurity. Oh wait.
The death rate is high.
Spot on in your analysis, I’m sure, and the highlight is your comparison to State Premiers. That puts the PM’s admission in stark contrast. I wonder if, and also hope that, a non-sycophant member of the Press Corps would pursue this with him.
ABC Radio’s PM this evening seemed to be treating it seriously, rather than with the derision it deserved.
ABCs news platforms have lost their integrity. They now echo the fascistic waffle that emanates from droogies like Chris Uhlman.
Lets hope there’s a complete clean out after the election. Buttrose and the board MUST go along with most of the top echelons of news and current affairs. They sold out, or showed their true colours, when they were needed most to uphold balanced reporting
Very well said Paul, in our worldly existence, redemption is earned not solicited from others. Others can forgive, but that does not require patronage to the perpetrator. Australia is choosing a leader, not rehabilitating a sociopath.
I had to chuckle at the heading of the latest Katherine Murphy article in the Guardian: “Even Scott Morrison is trying to distance himself from Scott Morrison now”.
Now the Chinese are watching us according to the potato head!
Just like the children overboard!
A case of ”Chips Ahoy!”
Of coarse they are not watching us .Just a little sail down to Ningaloo reef to take in some sunshine. Get a grip.
Having only just seen his ‘I can change’ routine, it looked like he didn’t believe a word of what he was saying. It appeared that he’d been forced into that tactic, after being outnumbered by some desperate spin doctors.