Piers Akerman: PM Malcolm Turnbull has until Christmas to turn the Liberal Party around

MALCOLM Turnbull has divided the Liberals with his egocentric style and now has until Christmas to reverse the polling trend or he will have exhausted any remaining credibility.

PM Malcolm Turnbull speaking at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. Picture: Kym Smith

PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull has divided the Liberal Party with his egocentric style and now has until Christmas to reverse the Liberal Party’s polling trend or he will have exhausted any remaining credibility.

That’s the considered view of a number of senior Liberals I have spoken with.

And, while there is no easy way out, they say there may be a slim chance of breaking the destructive cycle.

In their opinion, it is ridiculous for Turnbull to continue to ignore the overwhelming consensus of the available market research which has the Liberals trending downward as Labor’s fortunes improve.

While frontbenchers and some in the media are rallying around Turnbull it is the unanimous view of the Liberal elders that he has hopelessly disappointed those who had thought he might rise to meet the greater expectations placed on those who take on the office of prime minister.

Instead, his decisions have only reinforced the opinion that he doesn’t have any understanding of politics.

PM Malcolm Turnbull speaking at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany. Picture: Kym Smith

This is not only the view of some of the nation’s most admired politicians, current and former, but also the overwhelming view of Liberal party members in his own electorate.

In the words of one well-­regarded figure, who has known and worked with Turnbull for many years, the former merchant banker is a “silver bullet” man — a person who believes that one day he will strike upon the single issue or policy that will instantly turn his fortunes around — something that might come out of the blue and instantly alter perceptions.

It was this trait which led him to demand prime minister Kevin Rudd and treasurer Wayne Swan stand down in 2009 in what became known as “Ute-gate” before he had done any checking on the ­information provided to him by Treasury official Godwin Grech.

Grech later admitted to a Senate committee that he had faked the email which formed the basis for his claim that the men had sought favours for their car dealer friend John Grant.

Turnbull’s failure to uphold true Liberal policies in public and private is seen as his greatest weakness.

What he perceives as his strength — the ability to shepherd pieces of legislation through a cantankerous senate with negotiation and compromise — is dismissed by critics as nothing more than acquiescing to a Labor-lite agenda.

Former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan (left) and former PM Kevin Rudd in 2008.

Instead of reining in Labor’s unfunded policies, Turnbull has borrowed more to expand them. The landmark policies Turnbull cherishes are in step with Labor’s goals — Gonski. 2, the NDIS, the Finkel review all impose further huge strains on already overstretched budget — but the attack on hard-earned superannuation outraged conservatives.

They believe educational standards can only be ­improved through attitudinal change, in both the home and among teachers. The Left-leaning wets think throwing more money at the ever-­increasing problem will be the solution, though there is zero evidence that such a strategy has worked anywhere.

Gonski was never funded by Julia Gillard nor was the NDIS. The Finkel review’s modelling was outdated before it was even tabled.

So, how could this cycle and the downward spiral be reversed?

First, it would behove those commentators who decry former prime minister Tony Abbott to look realistically at what he has ­actually said about the Liberal Party rather than stereotype all of his remarks as attacks upon Turnbull.

Abbott is addressing real ­issues of critical concern to party members — few of whom Turnbull bothers to speak to.

The greatest threat to the Liberal Party nationally is the lack of real reform within the NSW division and this is no new bogeyman conjured up by Abbott since his ousting in 2015.

It was a critical concern of Abbott’s and of former prime minister John Howard well before then and continues to be at the forefront of their minds and the minds of other, equally serious and committed conservative Liberals.

While Labor has always been dominated by the trade unions (and we are seeing a ­return to the worst excesses of trade union control of Labor now under former union boss Bill Shorten), the factions within the Liberal Party have generally been fairly even-handed — until now.

The Left faction (laughingly styled as “moderates”) in NSW is effectively run by former state Liberal MP and now lobbyist Michael Photios and even the preselectors in the state are hand-picked by the Photios team.

Abbott is addressing real ­issues of critical concern to party members — few of whom Turnbull bothers to speak to.

One former Liberal senator told me that the hand of the Left lobbyists is now seen at all levels of politics from local government to Canberra.

Cleanskins just can’t win preselection for any vacancies in any arena, he said.

The Liberal state council in NSW has been hollowed out, he continued, there is no ­debate. Everything is pre-packaged and pre-approved, just like Labor, and Australia will ultimately pay the penalty.

Independents are growing support with preposterous and unfillable promises, he said.

“If you promise free beer, people will vote for you, even if they never get a free beer,” he said.

Which brings me to the possible circuit breaker Turnbull needs if he is to survive, ­serious reform.

“Malcolm should be leading the way on this reform, it would serve to disarm some of his most vehement critics,” an old master of the political game said.

“Malcolm Turnbull and Gladys Berejiklian should lead the charge.

“If he took a strong stand on this it would show he is prepared to reject the ­influence of (Defence Industry Minister Christopher) Pyne and (Attorney-General ­George) Brandis. It would be the right reform.”