Sharri Markson: Grinners are winners in battle for voters’ hearts
Both Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten are doing their best to shed their hard man images and show a softer side to voters looking for positive leaders, not negativity.
Opinion
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IT’S the battle of the smiles. With no more than five months to go until the next federal election campaign, both Bill Shorten and Scott Morrison are doing their best to be positive — to the electorate, at least.
This is a crucial change for both leaders who, in the past, have been comfortable to be seen purely as political warriors, attacking their opponent ruthlessly.
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Instead, both leaders are now deliberately softening their image and focusing on positive policy announcements.
The election battle lines are shaping up, with Shorten trying to win over mums and dads with major spending in education. Morrison is focusing on his forte, the economy, and is pitching himself to Middle Australia as Mister Suburban Everyday Guy.
Shorten has been on a campaign offensive over the past fortnight, with populist policy announcements. He pledged to subsidise childcare for three-year-olds in an effort to win over mums and dads struggling with childcare fees of up to $120 a day and, two days ago, he announced $14 billion in funding for public schools.
It’s a canny move that will let him roll out announcements of hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for schools in marginal seats.
You can already picture the campaign and publicity tour as he showers money on the schools, surrounded by grateful children.
This is a deliberate focusing on an area of traditional Labor strength. But there is also a change in Shorten’s strategy for engaging with the public through the media.
The Labor leader is trying to shift his image to be more positive and family friendly rather than as the union heavyweight always on the attack. There’s also a concerted effort underway to articulate his personal story and motivation for being in politics.
While Shorten will still lead the onslaught against Morrison in parliamentary Question Time, he has stopped doing door stops, allowing other frontbenchers to run the daily attack against the government.
A clear example this week was how Brendan O’Connor and Anthony Albanese, rather than Shorten, led the offensive attacking Alan Tudge’s regional migration plan.
Labor strategists told me it was a new phase five months before an election campaign.
“He will still be going hard (on Morrison) but there’s definitely more of a push to make sure Bill is more positive and doesn’t have to do the heavy lifting in terms of attacking,” a Labor insider said.
Another senior Labor source said: “He used to be up every day and he’s not now. Because of his figures, he can’t be seen to be negative every day, so is up less.”
Coinciding with this new media strategy is a parallel positive advertising strategy. Highly unusual at this point in the electoral cycle — five months from when the campaign is expected to kick off — Labor has rolled out a television ad.
It begins with a shot of Shorten and Chloe walking with their daughter, with Shorten’s voiceover: “I’m Bill Shorten. My wife Chloe and I want the best future for our kids and everyone else’s too.”
The advertisement, which has been running since Sunday night on commercial networks, features Shorten with school kids, at a TAFE, and even includes a beautiful image of a little girl in hospital holding a teddy bear.
The ad also features a walking shot with Shorten’s leadership group: Chris Bowen, Tony Burke, Penny Wong and Tanya Plibersek — with the noticeable exception of Don Farrell.
As this ad indicates, Labor has money to spend on advertising this far out from an election in sharp contrast to the Liberals who are in a heavy fundraising drive.
Labor’s fundraising efforts have been fruitful and it is building a healthy election war chest.
The party held a two-day business forum in Sydney in August that attracted the who’s who of the ASX. It is understood to have raised about $1 million, with the 100 attendees paying just under $11,000 each.
Labor’s most lethal argument against the government — that it’s giving a tax cut to the banks and big business while cutting school and hospital funding — has also been removed now the company tax cuts have been dumped.
Labor could also be worried voters are having another look at the Coalition government with a new Prime Minister and may be listening to what he has to say. They may even be willing to give him a go.
Thus, Shorten is responding strongly, with bold, positive policy announcements.
The launch of the advertisement followed Shorten’s speech last Sunday where he outlined his five priorities.
Similarly, Morrison is selling himself to the public, pitching himself as a regular dad.
Morrison is deliberately getting out among real people and voters. His decision to go to Bathurst 1000 on the weekend with his daughter, Lily, was a stroke of genius. He is the first PM to do so since Bob Hawke.
He is trying to appear less aggressive and less shouty in interviews, and instead reflect confidence. It helps that he seems to be in a terrific mood — his sudden elevation to the prime ministership has no doubt helped.
The underlying message is that he’s not out of touch like Turnbull was, and he’s not a Canberra suit like Shorten.
After clearly outlining his values early when he first became leader, now he is starting to roll out policy while removing policy barnacles such as the Catholic schools funding debacle.
But Morrison has an intensely difficult path ahead internally.
There is a constant fear of yet another major leak that could upset his grasp on Wentworth.
However, Morrison’s ability to hold this by-election has been vastly improved by the Greens’ bizarre decision to preference Labor over independent Kerryn Phelps, increasing Tim Murray’s chance of coming second and securing Morrison’s victory.
Heading into the year’s end, Shorten’s team is disciplined and united — or at least they appear united — while Morrison is flimsily holding together a deeply divided party.