James Campbell: Why Scott Morrison’s flexibility is actually a strength
While Scott Morrison is ultimately responsible for the fact the religious freedom act failed, the fact he has until now avoided a blow up like this is a credit to his political management, James Campbell writes.
James Campbell
Don't miss out on the headlines from James Campbell. Followed categories will be added to My News.
You can tell well how a politician is travelling from the reaction to their photo opportunities. When things are going well for them their attempts to ingratiate themselves by cracking stockwhips or pretending to barbecue the snags, are treated by most of us as harmless whims to be indulged.
But when they’re on the nose, these attempts to appear human grate. A couple of weeks ago Scott Morrison turned up at an outer suburban Melbourne hair salon in the seat of Dunkley which the Liberal Party is hoping to take off Labor.
During this visit, the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia was filmed washing a customer’s hair. In happier times this footage would have run on that night’s news with barely a comment.
But of course these are not happy time for the PM. He’s behind in the polls, the country has endured a summer that has tested our patience, and frank assessments of his character by his colleagues have made it into the public domain.
In addition to its many other chargers against him, Labor has been out there accusing him of a lack of seriousness. In this atmosphere, playing dress ups at a hair salon looked shallow and silly.
Moreover it undermined one of the government’s key electoral arguments: that Morrison is a more serious person than Anthony Albanese and hence more worthy of the country’s highest office.
Well that was the view of some of his colleagues anyway, a number of whom thought it showed a woeful lack of judgment by whoever is advising the PM.
The same people are likely to be unimpressed this weekend when 60 Minutes airs footage of our nation’s leader strumming a ukulele while attempting to sing the Dragon’s “April Sun in Cuba” as his family and Karl Stefanovic look on.
Personally I found the clip increased my sympathy for him.
As someone who has never mastered it I understood what he was going through – singing and strumming at the same time is hard. Concentrate too hard on the chords and the voice wanders off key. Think too hard about the hitting right notes and you can easily fall behind with your strumming.
That he was prepared to have a go at it in front of wife and kids – let alone the rest of us – took genuine courage, especially as, from the footage released so far, he seems to have failed at the task so spectacularly.
Nor could anyone have known when it was filmed that it would be destined to go to air at the end of Morrison’s worst week as PM.
The government’s humiliation on the floor of the House of Representatives at the hands of its own backbenchers on Thursday morning will be laid at the door of PM as it was his decision to force a vote on the issue of religious freedom.
But that he was prepared to risk that humiliation over an issue most people don’t really understand rather undermines the Labor charge that he doesn’t believe in anything.
And while he is ultimately responsible for the fact the effort failed – not least because unlike John Howard he hasn’t been careful enough at making Liberal moderates feel included – everyone in the government seems to have been blindsided by Dave Sharma, Katie Allen and Fiona Martin’s actions.
No doubt these three amigos are still basking in the warm afterglow of the emails they’ve had from people who will never vote for them.
But by their underhanded behaviour, not only have they ended any chance they might have had of being frontbenchers – something the ultra-ambitious Allen will soon come to regret – they’ve also done the moderate Liberal cause massive damage internally.
Right-wingers who sucked up net zero in order to help them save their seats are complaining loudly that this is their reward.
You could say the episode shows Morrison’s touch has deserted him.
But all it really shows is how hard it is keeping the two wings of the Liberal Party together – let alone managing the National Party.
That Morrison has been in charge since 2018 and until now avoided a blow up like this is a credit to his political management.
His critics, some of them internal, would say that of course political management is easy – or easier – when you don’t believe in anything. But is that such a bad thing? Most Australians aren’t ideological. We’re just happy for our leaders to do their best to try to solve problems as they come up.
And he showed with spending increases during the pandemic, he’s not going to die in a ditch over Liberal concerns about deficits if the times demand it.
Moreover back in 2018 his colleagues knew that’s what they were getting when they opted for him ahead of Peter Dutton.
Morrison might be tricky, unlike most of his colleagues the things he believes in might not be of this world, and the public might be starting to get tired of the daggy dad act.
But his flexibility is actually a strength. He might be a trimmer, but the point about trimmers is they’re good at catching the wind.
Originally published as James Campbell: Why Scott Morrison’s flexibility is actually a strength
Campbell: Another day, another terrible poll for Albo
For months, Anthony Albanese and his ministers have been pelting Peter Dutton with every insult they can think of. And where has that gotten them?
Campbell: The return of the Orange One is a true worry
If you want to find reasons to worry about what Trump II is going to be like there’s already plenty to work with.