Tony Abbott’s desperate effort to channel John Howard in his opposition to the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) today demonstrates just how desperate the former PM is in the face of party room indifference to his hysteria. His declaration “we will control what happens in this country and the circumstances under which it happens,” didn’t even have the cut-though ring of Howard’s original line, and was spoken on the eve of a party room victory for the Prime Minister.
Across the course of 2018, Abbott has progressively alienated colleagues with his opportunism and undermining, frustrating MPs with genuine gripes about policy by turning any discussion into a de facto leadership issue. Nor has it passed unnoticed that on literally every single issue on which he has sought to make trouble for Turnbull, he has stridently advocated doing exactly the opposite of what he himself did when prime minister. That has culminated in his absurd argument that he was somehow tricked into signing up to the Paris agreement and that his doing so wasn’t anything beyond a vague aspiration anyway. It’s all, apparently, a giant conspiracy — between bureaucrats here and overseas, disloyal colleagues and big business, which is calling for support for the NEG.
Conspiracy theorist, hypocrite, troublemaker, egotist — that’s all Abbott offers his party, and that’s become evident even to once close supporters.
Today is the final unveiling. The man who was, if nothing else, the deadliest negative politician in the country, who destroyed an opposition leader and then two prime ministers (one of them twice!) with his ruthless campaigning, can no longer work the old tricks of lies, half-truths, over-the-top rhetoric and cut-through talking points even with men (and a tiny number of women) of like mind. He wanted a showdown with Turnbull. The prime minister gave him one and will come out with an easy win.
The NEG is no policy. It will achieve nothing except further delay Australia’s inevitable transition to a decarbonised economy and make it even more expensive. It is purely a political tactic. But it will deliver victory for Turnbull against Abbott, and not just a temporary one, until the next issue crops up. Abbott has revealed how devoid of support he is among his own colleagues on his signature issue. He is now an empty threat, a man as hollow of capacity to damage his leader as he is hollow of policy beyond stunts and captain’s picks of epic misjudgment. Whatever the policy futility of the NEG, it has delivered Turnbull a hard-earned political win.
Yes its a magnificent win for Turnbull….what an achievement..his own party now back one of his policies..no wonder you journos are in a lather. Talk about easily impressed!
Yea they’ve been pushing bloody Turnbull on us for years,trying to convince us just what a genius and all round good bloke he is and treating us like ignorant mugs who would’nt know our arses from hot rocks!
Between Keane and Murphy they would have us believe that Malcom walks on water but Shorten would sink like a stone…. it’s about time they started treating us with a bit of respect!
Well played sir or ma’am! It is extraordinary that the press seem to be unable to express this. What should be a fait acompli turns into a tense battle between Good Mal and Bad Tony rather than a complete shit-cluster. It is the case that the LNP are riven with division, they almost lost the last election, the deputy PM was a liar and adulterer and they have a 1 seat majority in the lower house. This is litany of failure, misjudgement, incompetence, narcissism and plain old irresponsibility. The headline should read, “Incompetent PM manages to put out arse fire but suffers 3rd degree burns – pictures to follow”.
I’d love a link to those pics – but imagination will suffice as we’ve had plenty of previous conflagrations.
The final sentence would be better expressed as ‘whatever the emissions shortcomings of the NEG, it has hopefully ended the capture of the federal co-alition and national policy by the malign destructiveness of the hard right – Abbott, Abetz, Kelly and others’. The NEG will be next to useless if it doesn’t compel higher emission reductions, but first things first – you can’t recover a hijacked plane from a nosedive until you’ve wrestled the hostage-taker into submission.
Finally Turnbull grew a backbone and told Abbott to get the Feck off!
There’s a lot of Trump in Abbott – probably why Rupert likes him so much?
As for Turnbull’s “list of policy wins” (of which this is the latest) :- “Just add water, lot’s of it.”?
Abbott was an effective negative force against Labor when they were in power. The poor bugger just can’t change his spots. Only his negativity has survived, and that is only attractive to ultra right wing nutjobs such as Abetz and Kelly, and it still gets him onto the lowest, populist, mindless telly; Sky with their nutjobs still listening to him