Terry McCrann: Turnbull’s failures down to his own ineptitude
MALCOLM Turnbull is an embarrassing, pathetic, narcissistic disgrace. Even today he still refused to recognise that the political and personal failure of his prime ministership is all down to his own ineptitude, writes Terry McCrann.
Terry McCrann
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MALCOLM Turnbull is an embarrassing, pathetic, narcissistic disgrace.
Even today he still refused to recognise that the political and personal failure of his prime ministership — which has been on a relentless downhill slide since the day in 2016 that his continual underhand knifing of then prime minister Tony Abbott finally succeeded — is all entirely down to his own ineptitude.
It was all ’someone else’ — read: the Abbott, Abbott, Abbott’s — fault. And then, just to emphasise that it was always all and only about him, he announced he would throw a bomb into the party and the government behind him when he left.
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He said he would resign from the parliament, forcing a by-election in his seat which if the Liberal party lost — as would be likely, although it least it wouldn’t be handicapped by having Turnbull campaign for it — that would bring down the government and force it to an early election at which it would most probably be slaughtered.
I can’t be PM so I’m going to do everything I can to deliver government to the Labor Party and make Shorten PM.
To say Turnbull is behaving like a petulant utterly selfish child who can‘t get his or her way would be to insult petulant selfish children the world over.
It in itself demands that the party does not back the Turnbull candidate to succeed him — treasurer Scott Morrison. In practical terms it can only be Peter Dutton. It should be Abbott.
That it can’t be Abbott also goes to make the point that this is NOT a replay of Kevin Rudd bringing down ‘his Turnbull’- Julia Gillard in 2013.
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From his knifing by Gillard in 2010, Rudd never stopped trying to undermine her, until he finally succeeded. Then it was all about revenge and personal ambition — there was never any major policy difference between the two.
In the case of Abbott and Turnbull it’s been ALL about policy: the utterly stupid policies that Turnbull — and Morrison — have embraced and which are all electoral suicide.
That’s why it has to be Dutton (although, to repeat, it would be better if it were Abbott) — the Liberal party would be insane to embrace Turnbull Mark Two.
A PM Dutton needs two simple, clear and utterly unambiguous promises, which — sensibly and appropriately — borrow straight from Abbott’s 2013 success.
This is to IMMEDIATELY cut back on the LEVEL of immigration which is strangling Melbourne and Sydney, sending property prices soaring and hurting wage and salary earners.
The second is to end the energy insanity by joining the US — and in practical terms also China and India — by walking away from the Paris Climate Accord farce.
He must promise that a re-elected Dutton government would abolish all subsides to useless but expensive so-called renewable energy.
His off-the-cuff promised to remove the GST on power bills was a mistake.
Consumers would find it unbelievable — not unreasonably they would see the money just going to the power companies.
They would find it totally inadequate. At best that promises a 10 per cent cut to bills that have more than doubled. There’s no reason why bills can’t be halved.
But mostly Dutton needs simple, believability and clarity.
In 2013 it was ‘axe the tax’’ and ‘stop the boats’
In 2018 and into 2019 he needs similar messages on immigration and power prices. And he will need to keep repeating those messages five times a day, every day to the election.
Goodbye Malcolm. We will NOT miss you. Let’s hope we can eventually forget you.
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