Peta Credlin: Barnaby Joyce quits Nationals after ego gets ‘better of his judgment’
Barnaby Joyce has abandoned the Nationals to sit as an independent after demanding colleague loyalty, sparking comparisons to political “rats” who prioritise ego over service, writes Peta Credlin.
In politics, no one likes a “rat”. That’s going to be Barnaby Joyce’s problem now that he’s left the party that made him leader and deputy prime minister – not once, but twice.
Especially given that his originally stated reason for unhappiness was the Coalition’s commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, something that happened on his watch as leader; although, to be fair to him, he was reluctantly forced into it by Scott Morrison.
But demanding that his colleagues do something to keep him, which they then do, only to leave anyway, looks mean-spirited.
Having campaigned to get rid of net zero, it turns out that Barnaby’s real grievance is that he’s no longer on the front bench of a party that wants “generational change”.
I can understand his frustration, as it’s not as if the National’s current shadow ministers are all world-beaters and, at his best, Barnaby is still one of the country’s best retail politicians.
Still, why do people go into parliament? Surely it should be to serve the country rather than simply collect titles and, in any event, while current leader David Littleproud was shooting himself in the foot keeping Joyce on the backbench, there was strong grassroots party support for his return.
Meaning I don’t think Littleproud, having now had three Nats MPs quit during his time as leader, could have withstood much longer. And yet now, in quitting the Nationals because he doesn’t think he’s been treated with the respect he deserves, it looks like Barnaby has let his ego get the better of his judgment.
Deciding to now sit as an independent, while toying with the prospect of running for the Senate in NSW, as part of One Nation, it looks like he’s put making a noise ahead of making a difference.
One Nation might have been the most responsible of the various minor parties, but it’s still a party of protest rather than a party of government; and it’s better government that we desperately need right now – that Barnaby could still contribute to, if he got over himself and rejoined his old comrades.
As things stand, he looks like a latter-day Tony Windsor or Rob Oakeshott: Former Nationals who became independents because they didn’t get the preferment they wanted. Is this how he wants to be remembered?
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Originally published as Peta Credlin: Barnaby Joyce quits Nationals after ego gets ‘better of his judgment’
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