James Morrow: Matt Kean thinks a Lib civil war will keep him in government

Scratch the surface of Matt Kean’s ‘Putin sympathiser’ quip and it is clear the Treasurer is not concerned about his federal counterparts fighting off Teals at the polls, writes James Morrow.

If we are honest about it, most politicians will say pretty much anything to save their own skins.

But most of them are a lot smarter about hiding that fact than NSW Treasurer Matt Kean, who has somehow come up with the genius idea that starting a civil war within the Liberals will keep him in government after next year’s state election.

Get a load of his latest broadside, weighing in on the so-called “independent” candidates running against moderate MPs in places like Wentworth, North Sydney, and Mackellar.

“We’ve seen the impact of what happens when the centre right parties lose moderate voices. Look at the Republican Party, the party of Lincoln, the party that abolished slavery, has now become the party of Trump, the party of Putin sympathisers and anti-vaxxers,” he said.

“That’s not in the Liberal Party’s interest and that’s why we need strong voices like (Liberal MPs) Dave Sharma, Trent Zimmerman and Jason Falinski in the Liberal party room to make sure the Liberal Party remains reflective of the communities that we’re hoping to serve.”

NSW Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Oh, please.

Put aside the insane mischaracterization of America’s Republican party seemingly ripped from the headlines of a Radio National news bulletin.

And leave, for the moment, the bizarre implication that anyone who doesn’t agree with his soft and squishy laptop-class Liberalism is somehow a “Putin sympathiser” (a bit of reasoning every bit as coherent as Putin’s claim that anyone who disagrees with him is a Nazi).

Scratch the surface of what logic there is in his statement and it becomes clear that the Treasurer is not concerned about his federal counterparts fighting off the “teal” challenge to stay in government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: Kirill Kudryavtsev

No, the important thing is that his mates win so that his faction doesn’t find itself homeless and that Scott Morrison takes a loss so that the NSW Liberals have a better chance in 2023.

It also plays into a broader narrative that the so-called “moderates” within the NSW government are doing everything they can to cut themselves loose from their federal counterparts in order to save their own skin next year.

Matt Kean has led the charge on this front, in the process turning himself into the Fredo Corleone of the Liberal Party with his attacks on the endorsed candidate for Warringah, Katherine Deves.

More than one observer has noted that it was the height of irony for Matt Kean, once caught up in a sexting scandal, to use the controversy in Warringah to advance the cause of “decency” in politics.

Liberal insiders are increasingly annoyed with the Treasurer, and more than one has suggested he might do his cause more good by shutting up occasionally rather than grandstanding for his own purposes.