Voters want leaders who 'innovate and inspire' in pandemic-era politics: Sir Lynton Crosby

London: Australian political strategist Sir Lynton Crosby says the coronavirus pandemic has triggered so much economic and social upheaval that voters now crave leaders who "inspire and innovate" rather than solely focus on managing the health crisis.

Sir Lynton, who helped mastermind election campaigns for John Howard, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison and is known as the "Wizard of Oz" in Britain, also warned it was too early to know whether the public will punish governments that have bungled their response.

Australian political strategist Sir Lynton Crosby says the pandemic has changed what voters want from their leaders. Credit: Magnus Agren

"You’ve got to be careful when dealing with a long-term issue like this that you don’t end up being like a kid in the back seat of the car on a holiday asking your parents 'are we there yet' when you've only gone one kilometre down the road," he said.

"Obviously people respond to competency, and sense of having a plan, and to open and honest communication. They're all important. But I don't think anyone should be rushing to draw conclusions about where we are at the end of August politically because we are still going through the journey."

The strategist cited his firm's research from Australia, the United States, Britain, United Arab Emirates, India and Hong Kong, which had detected a clear shift in sentiment as the COVID-19 epidemic moved on from the initial emergency.

"At the start of the pandemic people were looking for leaders who were decisive and assertive. Basically people were uncertain about what was going on and wanted someone who could grab it and deal with it," he said.

"What's interesting now is the two words they most associate with good leadership in the face of the pandemic are innovating and inspiring."

Governments around the world are preparing to hand down budgets after massive fiscal stimulus and a shrinking economy, and are under pressure to produce recovery plans that do not solely rely on traditional spending cuts or revenue-raising measures.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will deliver the federal government's budget on October 6, after confirmation last week that Australia had entered its first recession since 1990.

"Of course people want the basics done − there’s no denying that,'' Sir Lynton said. ''When you're faced with an uncertain climate, confidence comes from knowing you are working to a plan and you can see it through.

"But the innovative issue is interesting because it suggests people think the pandemic is changing the way we live, work and conduct ourselves as human beings.

"Business is going to change, government is going to change and therefore voters want their leaders to be able to not just cope with change but innovate, respond and take advantage of the change.”

Sir Lynton said that shift was an opportunity for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Johnson's government has struggled to control what is regarded as Europe's worst COVID-19 outbreak.

Sir Lynton managed Johnson's London mayoral campaigns in 2008 and 2012 and his successful bid for the Tory leadership in 2019.

The founder of the Crosby Textor consultancy firm − which has been rebranded as the CT Group − argued voters were "willing governments to succeed" even if mistakes were made.

"We've been tracking community opinion in multiple countries since the pandemic and people may be critical about a particular handling of an issue but they are pretty forgiving," Sir Lynton said.

"They are willing governments to succeed because this is not just a normal political issue where there’s a battle going on between two sides of politics – this is an existential issue for the economy and the country in some ways.

"People don't view this in the same way they do some other issues where you jump on a bandwagon for or against something. They are seeing this thing very differently."

Sir Lynton was knighted in 2016 after playing a key role in David Cameron's surprise election victory the previous year.

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