Barnaby Joyce’s return to the leadership of the Nationals is, to borrow from the Book of Proverbs, like a dog returning to his own vomit – a fool has returned to his folly. Joyce is a divisive and discredited politician who suffers from a delusion about his ability. This is disastrous for the Coalition. It has exploded the unity in the government and will be a gift for the opposition.
It is hard to think of a politician more egotistical or narcissistic, totally lacking in self-awareness, utterly self-centred and self-absorbed, and hoodwinked into thinking the nation is calling on him to serve in the second-highest cabinet post: the deputy prime ministership.
His re-elevation to the deputy prime ministership is surely a hoax on the Australian people. Joyce was a failed Nationals leader who was forced to resign in scandal three years ago after revelations of an extramarital affair and sexual harassment allegations. Malcolm Turnbull accused Joyce of lying over the affair, which damaged the government.
Australia is dealing with a resurgent pandemic and recovering from a recession. The government is focused on the health and economic response to this once-in-century challenge but the National Party has been focused on itself. That Joyce thought this was the right time to topple the deputy prime minister reveals much about him.
Joyce has little credibility in rural and regional Australia. He is a turn-off for most voters, including those who vote traditionally for the Nationals, and especially women.
Nationals voters are typically socially conservative. They will recoil at the return of Joyce, his bumbling manner and soap-opera life. He was once a great retail politician but his life became a train wreck. He is a wrecker and a spoiler.
Michael McCormack was an accident-prone leader and hardly a heavy-hitter. His performance in parliament last week was eye-rolling. But Joyce was unremitting in his ambition to return as leader. This is the second time he has challenged McCormack’s leadership. It was a leadership quest driven by revenge and megalomania. McCormack showed grace in accepting his defeat.
Scott Morrison did not want Joyce to return to the deputy prime ministership. There is no doubt about this. The Prime Minister worked well with McCormack. The return of Joyce to cabinet and the Nationals leadership is the last thing Morrison needs while dealing with a bungled vaccine rollout and cementing the economic recovery. Remember when he promised to lead a stable government?
After a vote of just 21 Nationals MPs, Joyce leaps from the backbench into cabinet. He is now the ranking No. 2 MP in the government. This arrangement between the Liberal and National parties has a long history, dating back to 1949. But it is surely a busted model if a backbencher can become deputy prime minister in these circumstances.
Joyce will be the deputy prime minister even though he is anti-government. On Christmas Eve 2019, Joyce tweeted a video of himself standing in a paddock surrounded by cows and unleashed a bizarre rant about how he hated government. Red-faced, sweaty and dishevelled, he said: “I just don’t want the government any more in my life. I am sick of the government being in my life.”
Joyce also turned to dream analysis. He wrote about dreaming he was in a car crash and it being a metaphor for governments spending too much money to aid the economic recovery from Covid-19. “No economy, including ours, can afford to buy all the economic toilet paper in the supermarket,” he argued. Whatever that means. The column was published on April Fool’s Day last year. The joke is still on us.
And who can forget his sad and silly book, Weatherboard & Iron (2018), in which he wrote about his drinking, depression and pursuing women as his marriage broke up. He conceded deliberately deceiving voters about his marriage being over and having an affair during the New England by-election in 2017. “I had to play the game,” he wrote. He sold the story of his affair and baby to the Seven Network for $150,000. It was shameless.
The immediate problem for the government is climate change policy. Morrison is reluctant to commit to the goal of reducing emissions to net zero by 2050, like every state and territory government and most other nations, but he is edging towards it.
But Joyce is a dinosaur on climate change. He is out of step with every leading rural industry group, including the National Farmers Federation.
The Joyce leadership coup is a gift to a lacklustre Labor Party led by the unpopular Anthony Albanese. Joyce will be a walking talking gaffe-machine that Labor will exploit every day until the next election. It will focus on the inevitable divisions between Nationals and Liberals on a range of policy fronts. Joyce has never been a team player. Labor cannot believe its luck.
Joyce is the first leader of the Nationals to return to the top job. He would be the only predecessor to welcome his return. The Nationals once were led by men with intellect and integrity who did much for their communities and the nation: Arthur Fadden, John McEwen, Doug Anthony, Ian Sinclair, Tim Fischer and John Anderson. Joyce is not in their league. Last year the Nationals gathered in Canberra, opposite the National Archives of Australia, to unveil a bronze statue of McEwen. Today it stands as a monument to the decline of the party. “Black Jack” would be rolling in his grave.
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