ScoMo’s not letting Shorten skate his way to PM
Bill Shorten may have enjoyed an easy ride when he was up against Malcolm Turnbull but Prime Minister Scott Morrison is proving he won’t let the Opposition leader slip under the radar, writes Miranda Devine.
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It’s no accident that Bill Shorten had a shocking first week of the election campaign. From repeatedly refusing to cost his climate policy, to denying his superannuation policy imposed new taxes, to the disappearance of his negative gearing and capital gains policies from his campaign website,
the Labor leader looked decidedly out of sorts by Thursday.
MORE FROM MIRANDA DEVINE: Meet the wannabe PM — Bill ‘Inauthentic’ Shorten
Which is all part of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s plan. Shorten will not get the easy ride he enjoyed against Malcolm Turnbull.
“For 5½ years (Shorten) has gone under the radar,” Morrison said last week. “We have to take some of the responsibility for that but the difference between this election and the last is at the last election no one thought he was going to win. But this time he’s under a lot more pressure to explain himself. The public are expecting more from him this time.
“On superannuation, did he really think he was going to get away with saying, 'No new taxes but we’re starting now’?”
MORE FROM MIRANDA DEVINE: Winter is coming if ScoMo doesn’t step up
An increasingly optimistic Morrison went on to contrast his own economic experience to Shorten’s.
“Being treasurer makes a big difference because you have to get into the detail of government,” he said.
“Bill Shorten has never had an [economic] portfolio … He is one of the most scripted, highly managed Labor leaders we’ve seen. He’s only ever had to go out and run lines.”
Game on.