Rita Panahi: No shock that Malcolm Turnbull in a skirt Sussan Ley is failing to resonate with the electorate

What a shock that Malcolm Turnbull in a skirt is not resonating with the electorate. Perhaps it would help if we got some policies from Sussan Ley rather than motherhood statements about “aspiration” and “respect”.

What a shock that Malcolm Turnbull in a skirt is not resonating with the electorate. Sussan Ley has led the Coalition to its worst Newspoll result in 40 years.

The Coalition’s primary vote sits at 29 per cent, the lowest since Newspoll began comparing primary vote levels in 1985.

Perhaps it would help if we got some policies from Ley rather than motherhood statements about “aspiration” and “respect”.

In the two months she’s been leader we’ve seen no shift away from the Labor-lite policies of net zero and big migration, but we’ve had plenty of chatter about gender quotas.

Ley has said “our policies are up for review, but our values are not.” It’s a mealy-mouthed statement that doesn’t stand up to any level of scrutiny.

A political party’s policies are its values.

Ley has led the Coalition to its worst Newspoll result in 40 years. Picture: Hilary Wardhaugh

You cannot be about small government and lower taxes if you are backing an ever-expanding public service.

You cannot be about prioritising the cheapest and most reliable forms of energy if you back the renewables grift and the market manipulation that characterises the sector.

You cannot be for meritocracy and then back DEI policies including gender or race-based quotas.

You cannot be for free speech and support the activism of the eSafety commissioner.

And, you cannot call yourself an opposition when you barely oppose; serving as a Labor-lite alternative nobody wants.

Cost of living remains the No. 1 concern for most voters and the Coalition has failed to hold Labor accountable or to offer an alternative to the big spending, big taxing, big bureaucracy that has seen Australian households suffer the worst decline in living standards since the 1950s.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Picture: Hilary Wardhaugh

This week’s Newspoll had Labor’s primary vote at 36 per cent with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s personal approval rating at 47 per cent. Not exactly a ringing endorsement but well ahead of Ley on 35 per cent.

Voters together with the Liberal’s biggest donors have put the party on notice; stand for something or stay irrelevant.

Billionaire Robert Millner and stockbroker Angus Aitken are among business leaders who have spoken publicly about not giving another cent to the Libs until they dump their quasi-Labor policies.

The problem is Ley lacks both the ideological conviction and the political acumen to do so.

Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist

Originally published as Rita Panahi: No shock that Malcolm Turnbull in a skirt Sussan Ley is failing to resonate with the electorate