‘Muppet show’: Scott Morrison tells of strange’ rise to PM
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has told his detractors to “get over it” as he vows to rebuild the Liberal Party after his “strange and bewildering” rise to the nation’s top job.
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has vowed to rebuild the Liberal Party after his “strange and bewildering” rise to the nation’s top job.
In his first at-home TV interview at his house in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, Mr Morrison told A Current Affair’s Tracy Grimshaw the Parliament had resembled “a muppet show”.
“The events that led us to the point of me becoming Prime Minister were strange, they were bewildering and they were disappointing. I agree with all that,” he told ACA.
“But the charge that is before me now is to take control and lead the country and to lead my party. That’s what I’ll be doing, showing that strength of leadership.”
Mr Morrison reiterated the need for “next-generation Liberal leadership” in light of the chaotic events that saw Mr Turnbull ousted from the role of prime minster.
“The curtain comes down on that and the curtain has now lifted. I’m leading the government, I’m leading the party, it’s a new generation of Liberal leadership,” he said.
Morrison laughed off suggestions that he was the driving force behind the Liberal leadership spill and that he had used Peter Dutton as “a stalking horse”.
“And if that’s true, Elvis is cutting hair in Lithgow,” he joked.
When Grimshaw referred to the infighting and animosities that led to the dramatic dumping of Malcolm Turnbull, Mr Morrison said he was over it.
“I said a while back that it’s not about trying to convince people that they are on our side, it’s about us demonstrating that we are on their side. I’ve been in the Parliament now for just over a decade and it’s probably been the most tumultuous period on both sides of politics since the dismissal, when I was a kid.”
When Grimshaw pointed out that Mr Morrison still had detractors within the party, he dismissed it.
“They’ll move on. This is what the next-generation leadership thing is all about. Our generation of Liberals has lived with that fighting in the past. We’ve had a gutful of it and that’s why the curtain has come down on that and I’m starting afresh.
“If they’re feeling wounded, if they’re feeling damaged or feeling hurt, you know what, get over it because we’ve got a country to run and that’s what I’ve demanded of them.”
When it came to his predecessor, Mr Morrison said he was a “different person”.
“Every prime minister brings their own personality, they bring their own emphasis to what is done. I’m a boy from the suburbs here in Sydney, I’m a father bringing up two kids here in suburban Sydney. I’ve got a mortgage which is the same size as most others, on average.”
The PM said his biggest passion was “Australians in jobs”. Power prices and energy supply were also on his agenda, he said.
Mr Morrison said the government needed to invest more in what he called “fair dinkum” electricity.
“That’s electricity that works when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining,” he said.
The PM’s wife, Jenny, told ACA the pair were determined their young daughters would keep their “normal life”.
“I’m just a mum and I’m doing my mum thing. I’m looking after the kids and making sure everything is as normal as possible.”
She and the PM would still have their “curry date” once a week, she said, a “ritual” they had kept over the years to allow them to spend quality time together despites the demands of work.
Originally published as ‘Muppet show’: Scott Morrison tells of strange’ rise to PM