Bulldozed review: Not even divine intervention could save Scott Morrison
Niki Savva has written the definitive study of the fall of the Morrison government. It is as powerful as it is persuasive.
There is a platinum law in Australian politics that applies equally to both sides of the political aisle. It is simply this. If a government dodges a bullet electorally at one election, it will be hit by a shotgun blast at the next.
The key element in such a devastating landslide occurring is that the government concerned misreads the electorate when winning an election, unexpectedly, in an environment which favours the Opposition. The classic example is in 2019 when the Morrison Coalition government was returned against the predictions of most pundits. Something similar happened with the victory of the Keating government in 1993.
In the wake of the 2019 surprise outcome, Prime Minister Morrison declared that he believed in miracles. He seemed to believe that divine intervention had saved his government. The truth was far less biblical and far less inspiring.
Federal Labor under Bill Shorten was travelling along the third rail of Australian politics, being tax policy. It was ambitious and the electorate recoiled in uncertainty.
Niki Savva, an accomplished author (especially in the realm of Australian political biography) has now written the definitive study of the fall of the Morrison government. It is as powerful as it is persuasive.
Entitled Bulldozed, taken from a self-referential Morrison line, Savva has now completed an outstanding trilogy of assessments of Australian prime ministers.
The Road to Ruin was a withering examination of the self-destruction of the Abbott government. This was followed by Plots and Prayers which was a sweeping critique of Malcolm Turnbull’s disappearance and the treachery of those who backed Scott Morrison into the Lodge.
Both books set new benchmarks in forensic evaluation of the deceit that accompanies leadership changes in Canberra. Bulldozed continues Savva’s laser-like examination of the political players.
Scott Morrison has apparently always held himself in some regard, reportedly describing himself in the following ways in 2006: “Under the heading of personal attributes he listed: Positive, direct, determined, decisive, pragmatic, articulate, passionate, outcome focused, innovative, discrete (sic), personable, motivated, committed, reasoned, analytic, responds to challenges, loyal, works well under pressure”. And humility?
As the former Howard government minister Fran Bailey observed: “It was all out there for everyone to see. I think he is missing that part of his brain that controls empathy. Everything had to be his way, he would not accept advice, he would not collaborate unless it was with the cheer squad that he surrounded himself with.” Nothing much seems to have changed.
Savva has been diligent in her research, interviewing dozens of political players from across the board.
Often her interviews with former senior Liberals, some of whom lost their seats in 2022, are most instructive.
Morrison’s misjudgments have assumed the status of legend. Perhaps his most egregious misjudgment and the one with the greatest electoral consequence was to smugly walk around the floor of the parliament with a lump of coal, taunting the Labor Opposition. The electoral reaction was savage.
The door was opened wide for the Teals, who can trace their heritage to “Liberals For The Forests” in WA two generations ago.
The results of the election speak for themselves.
There was almost a complete absence of serious policy in the Coalition’s 2022 campaign. This was something even John Howard remarked upon. This was a prime minister who seemed not to want to leave a legacy, and that may actually mark his term in office.
Savva’s interpretations of the cascading episodes which led to the disintegration of the Morrison government are utterly compelling. She has employed the equivalent literary device of a cat o’ nine tails, as she flays the former prime minister’s reputation for a diversity of failings.
Some Liberal MPs are scathing on Morrison: “Among his detractors, and there were plenty, Morrison was regarded as the worst prime minister since Billy McMahon. After news of his secret ministries emerged, they revised that to say that he was worse than McMahon.
“Morrison squandered the goodwill of his miracle win.
“Instead of using it to push for much needed reforms, he stood still. He snuck off to Hawaii for a holiday during the Black Summer bushfires. In the end he was seen to have failed to rise to the challenge of the pandemic.”
The conclusion is perhaps inescapable that Morrison was among the most manipulative and secretive of Australian prime ministers.
He became the man for all portfolios. The Censure Motion in the House of Representatives simply reflects the negative depth of the estimation of his peers.
And after all this; ScoMo, we hardly knew you.
Stephen Loosley is a former ALP senator and national president of the party.
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