Morrison gets on with the job
ASKED last week to name Scott Morrison’s greatest vulnerability, one of Labor’s most senior figures had no hesitation: his ego.
There’s no doubt the Prime Minister is looking increasingly, well, Prime Ministerial since the election.
He’s passing legislation, contributing only sparingly to the daily news cycle, calmly managing the odd backbench policy outbreak and making life hell for Labor with wedge after wedge designed to test “whose side” Anthony Albanese is on.
This is all incredibly frustrating for Labor, which is still coming to grips with its devastating defeat and trying to work out where it stands on all sorts of policies. It’s resorted to mostly nonpolicy attacks in Question Time about everything from Angus Taylor’s business interests to whether another wacky right-wing provocateur should be allowed into the country.
All very interesting, and tactically understandable, but none of it is gaining any lasting traction. And none of it tells us yet where Albanese intends to take a stand and fight.
So where is the Morrison vulnerability? Where is the weakness in this formidable Prime Ministerial armour that Labor hopes to one day penetrate? Ego.
In fairness, ego is a big part of the job description for being PM. Think Gough Whitlam, Paul Keating, Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull. Convincing a majority of Australians to vote for you as their leader requires no shortage of self belief.
Within Labor, however, there is a view that Scott Morrison’s ego is his greatest weakness. When the Prime Minister rejected calls for an increase in the Newstart Allowance as “unfunded empathy”, his critics saw this as a callous misjudgment and a sign Morrison isn’t listening to the people.
Morrison, by contrast, reckons he’s right in line with the sentiment of his “Quiet Australians” on this. He won’t budge on Newstart, at least not on the headline rate. In fact, he’s planning to get even tougher on welfare recipients, by reviving legislation for drug tests to ensure no one is spending their $40 a day on cocaine or ice.
Who’s really in line with community sentiment? Do voters want to get tougher on job seekers or give them a bit more help? Who knows? No one really trusts polls and focus group research right now. Not after what happened in May.
When the first post-election Newspoll finally dropped last Monday, it barely caused a ripple.
Politics and policy decisions, for a while at least, will rely on gut instinct and listening to real people instead of polls. Who knows, this might just prove to be a better guide.
Behind the scenes, Scott Morrison isn’t exactly behaving like an egomaniac. He’s busying himself with a number of policy “deep dives”, quietly bringing together small groups of Ministers and MPs (including firsttermers) who have a particular policy passion to tackle a handful of problems from indigenous youth suicide, to veterans’ mental health and even the growing recycling crisis facing the states. Right now his focus is fixing problems and delivering promises. Any big picture reforms won’t come until next year.
This is fine with the Coalition troops, who are still enjoying the surprise of being back in government with some clear air. There was a moment of genuine laughter and camaraderie in last Tuesday’s Coalition party room meeting, which one older hand said was the first time in about a decade the room had the feeling of a team rather than warring parties divided between the Abbott and Turnbull forces.
Of all people, it was Mitch Fifield who delivered the moment.
Reflecting on his 15 years in the Senate, Fifield told a story at last Tuesday’s meeting about his early determination to reduce the size of government. He argued internally against a new pork-barrelling grants program, only to be met by a wall of opposition from more populist members of the House, who wanted the money to hold their seats. The ideology of a Senator was beaten by the pragmatism of marginal seat holders.
It wasn’t particularly funny, but in that room, at that time, it drew a hearty and united laugh.
Perhaps it was also an acknowledgment within the room that pragmatism is far more important than purity when it comes to political success and that egos should always be kept in check.
BEHIND THE SCENES, SCOTT MORRISON ISN’T EXACTLY BEHAVING LIKE AN EGOMANIAC. HE’S BUSYING HIMSELF WITH A NUMBER OF POLICY “DEEP DIVES” …