Peta Credlin joins Andrew Bolt, Janet Albrechtsen, calls out Prime Minister Scott Morrison

As the deadline for Scott Morrison to announce an election gets nearer and nearer, another right-wing stalwart has pleaded with the PM to be better.

Sky News host Peta Credlin has lashed Prime Minister Scott Morrison, pleading with him to “do better” or abandon his chances at the next election.

In an opinion piece for The Australian, Credlin said Mr Morrison needed to give voters “a reason to vote for you” and said the performance of the Liberal part was leaving people “politically homeless”.

“The government that’s going into this election is almost unrecognisable from the one elected in 2013,” Credlin wrote.

The former Liberal staffer said the actions of Mr Morrison had led to a lot of “disillusionment among many Liberal supporters”, especially on policy related to lowered taxes and more support for big businesses.

“There’s no big political party that’s rock-solid for lower taxes, smaller government and greater freedom, plus support for the family, small business and the institutions that have made this country what it is,” she wrote.

Right-wing commentators pile on

Credlin’s column comes just three days after fellow Sky News host and conservative columnist Andrew Bolt said the Prime Minister seemed like a “man with the fight beaten out of him”.

“Peter Dutton, get ready to lead. Prime Minister Scott Morrison looks finished, and is now making a fool of himself to get some love,” he wrote in an opinion piece for The Herald Sun.

“Morrison is not just despised by the Left, but disrespected by the Right.”

He also critiqued Mr Morrison for being unable to stand criticism and says his “fear of being disliked has hurt him”.

“When journalists savage him – as they did again last week – he blusters to justify himself” Bolt wrote.

“He doesn’t fire back with both barrels as the infinitely self-assured Bob Hawke did.”

I think that may be a little fib right there. https://t.co/pUqfdlVDnM

— janet albrechtsen (@jkalbrechtsen) February 6, 2022

The Australian’s Janet Albrechtsen also condemned Mr Morrison, writing that he’s “just not up to the job”.

In the piece, Albrechtsen self-identified as “a small-L liberal”, but wrote she’s “not on the Liberal team” but also not “a Labor-loving sycophant”. Like Bolt, her main criticism was that Mr Morrison lacks “conviction” and hasn’t led with “liberal principles”.

“Though his colleagues may describe him as ‘horrible’ and a ‘psycho’ and a ‘liar’, my disappointment with him is less gaudy but no less real,” she wrote.

“I can’t put my finger on a single important policy Morrison has made his own, where he has chanced his arm in the political marketplace of ideas because he believes it is important to carry people with him.

“It takes solid arguments, personal conviction, all the stuff of a leader to carry the day.”

In one of her harsher critiques, Albrechtsen called out Mr Morrison for being “a mix of middle management and marketing man”, citing his response to WA Labor Premier Mark McGowan’s refusal to open the West Australian border and his delay in switching out PCR testing for RATs.

“He never braves the harder stuff, the values a democracy depends on to function. Truth be told, I can’t work out what values excite him politically. Except winning,” she wrote.

The Prime Minister’s plan to call an election is running out and favour with voters is also diminishing. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Plagued by scandals as the federal election looms

The timing of such criticism is not ideal for the Prime Minister, who faces a looming election that must happen by May 21, 2022. This means he must call an election by the March 18 as protocol states there must be at least 33 days of campaigning.

The most recent polling numbers show that Mr Morrison’s favour with voters is plummeting as the campaign nears. The latest Newspoll from late January had Labor leading the Coalition 56 to 44, with the Prime Minister’s net satisfaction rating has plunging 11 points, putting him dangerously close with Leader of the Opposition, Anthony Albanese at 43 to 41 per cent.

A string of transgressions from leaked texts in which Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce calls the PM “a hypocrite and a liar” and Mr Morrison’s handling of the Omicron variant have also seen him lose favour with some voters.

Recently, Mr Morrison also lost face during a bizarre photo-op at a hairdressing business in Victoria, which show him washing a woman’s hair in the basin. Commenting on the situation, Albrechtsen called it “weird and creepy”.

Despite these examples, conservative commentators have yet to completely give up on Mr Morrison, despite their harsh criticisms.

“It’s early to write off Morrison completely, but is he weaker or stronger than he was when he won that ‘miracle election’ last time, by the skin of his teeth?” Bolt wrote.

“Liberal MPs know the answer, and must now wonder who should take over as leader – and when.”