Scott Morrison’s one-man election win gives him new supreme power in the Liberal Party

Scott Morrison’s successful one-man campaign changes everything inside the Liberal Party and puts him in a position no other PM has enjoyed.

Scott Morrison fought and won the unwinnable election single-handedly and will now wield supreme power as a result, experts say.

Disruptive voices within the Coalition have been silenced by the Prime Minister’s extraordinary campaign performance, and he will be able to call the shots with little obstruction — for a while, at least.

Chris Wallace, a political historian at Australian National University, said Mr Morrison’s “folksy and motivated” style had played well against all expectations.

“Morrison’s raw enthusiasm with people he came into contact with on the election trail created a high-energy, direct connection with voters,” Dr Wallace said.

“Shorten worked just as hard on the trail, but the enthusiasm for ordinary voters didn’t shine through. He never seemed to shake the impression he was talking ‘at’ people instead of ‘with’ people.”

Scott Morrison’s style of campaigning has been described as ‘presidential’ by political experts.

Marija Taflaga, a politics lecturer at Australian National University, described Mr Morrison’s one-man campaign strategy as “ruthlessly disciplined”.

“This is the most presidential campaign run by a single party in Australian history,” Ms Taflaga wrote in an analysis piece for The Conversation. “This is Morrison’s victory, and he will forever be a Liberal hero.”

Scott Morrison managed to have broad appeal to voters in the city, suburbs and bush.

Mr Morrison had managed to achieve what many believe former PM Malcolm Turnbull wouldn’t have — connecting with a broad range of voters in the city, suburbs and bush, Chris Salisbury, politics lecturer at The University of Queensland, said.

“The focus was solely on him,” Dr Salisbury said. “It was a very man-around-town style, connecting with the punters.”

By winning the unwinnable election, virtually on his own, Mr Morrison has shown himself to be a real force after just eight months in the top job and at the end of a period of chaos.

“Morrison is a proven winner and now has the chance to exercise his personal authority,” Ms Taflaga said.

He is now in “unqualified command” of the Coalition, but Dr Wallace said things could change quickly once the business of politics resumed.

“The Government is two seats better off and the Opposition two seats worse off than they were in the last parliament. That’s not a big change,” he said.

“The Government is still vulnerable to breakouts by individual members like George Christensen who, with another colleague or two in tow, can hog-tie it on controversial issues.”

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Scott Morrison’s effort to win an unwinnable election cements him as a ‘Liberal hero’. Picture: AAP

Successive opinion polls right up until polls closed had Labor and Bill Shorten on track for a convincing victory.

Mr Morrison juggled his attacks on Labor leader Bill Shorten and the Opposition’s policies with a soft, daggy dad image.

“Morrison has a gift for easy simplification,” Ms Taflaga said.

“To give just one example, he framed the complex franking credits issue into the ‘retirement tax’ scare. At the same time, Morrison smoothed out this overwhelmingly negative campaign, and rounded out his previous public image as aggressive and shouty, by showing himself to be just another dad in the suburbs.”

A curious feature of the campaign was Mr Morrison’s election commitments, devised and announced in a number of instances without the consultation of the relevant minister.

“Effectively, he took a personal responsibility for the Government’s agenda,” Dr Salisbury said.

That could set the tone of his authority in the party room, he said, but it could also be a double-edged sword.

If any issues arise with complex policy — particularly the first homebuyers promise — it will be entirely Mr Morrison’s responsibility.

Scott Morrison’s authority will be greater than many other PMs because of his election victory.

Mr Morrison also focused on seemingly safe seats that were under serious threat from a number of “small L Liberal” independent candidates.

It was a task that seemed “overwhelmingly difficult” at the start of the campaign but one that the Prime Minister orchestrated successfully, Ms Taflaga said.

There are now a number of figures in the Liberal Party — hard-right powerbroker Michael Sukkar especially — who owe Mr Morrison dearly.

Mr Sukkar was one of the key plotters of Peter Dutton’s failed attempt to clinch the leadership last year.

But for how long they remember Mr Morrison’s help remains to be seen.

“Underlying tensions within and between the Coalition parties haven’t changed, and they’ll break out again eventually,” Dr Wallace said. “There’s nothing like an election win to bury them for a while though.”