Napoleon of the Shire: Scott Morrison’s lust for conquest and power

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison attends the East Asia Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. Picture: AAP

Political scientist Carol Johnson, The Conversation, November 4:

(Scott) Morrison’s election persona of “ScoMo”, the warm and friendly daggy dad from the suburbs, might not seem authoritarian (but) even then, there were authoritarian tendencies creeping in to his populism. This is not just in his attitudes to asylum-seekers but also to Australians. (Take) Morrison’s slogan: “A fair go for those who have a go” implied that some welfare recipients didn’t deserve the benefits they were getting.

SBS News, November 5:

Morrison’s promise to crack down on “indulgent and selfish” activist-driven boycott campaigns is proving divisive … Greens senator Nick McKim also rejected the Morrison government’s plan. “Morrison is a fascist who will try to arrest his way through the civil disobedience … while he ignores the destruction of climate and nature,” he tweeted.

Guardian Australia, November 1:

(Morrison) claimed that “progressivism” — which he labelled a “new­speak type term”, invoking George Orwell — intends “to get in under the radar but at its heart would deny the liberties of Australians”. “Apocalyptic in tone, it brooks no compromise,” Morrison said. “It’s all or nothing. Alternative views are not permitted.” … The Greens were quick to reverse the charge of intolerance and level it at Morrison, with acting leader Adam Bandt (saying): “The Prime Minister’s commitment to outlaw the peaceful, legal protest of Australian individuals and community groups reads like a move straight from the totalitarian’s playbook.”

Totalitarianism, Britannica.com:

… form of government that theoretically permits no individual freedom and that seeks to subordinate all aspects of individual life to the authority of the state.

Authoritarianism, Britannica.com:

… principle of blind submission to authority, as opposed to individual freedom of thought and action. In government, authoritarianism denotes any political system that concentrates power in the hands of a leader or a small elite that is not constitutionally responsible to the body of the people.

Political scientists Santiago Anria and Kenneth Roberts, The Conversation, October 10:

(In Venezuela, Nicaragua and Ecuador) leftist leaders succumbed to what we call the “autocratic temptation” — the idea that a charismatic leader or popular political movement not only can speak for an entire nation but that they can do so forever.

The Sydney Morning Herald, February 14, 2007:

Labor’s national president and a line-up of Greens politicians are behind a push to bring the world’s most outspoken socialist leader and virulent US critic to Australia … Treasurer Peter Costello produced a copy of an online invitation which calls on Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez to visit Australia (and says): “… what Venezuela has been able to achieve in so little time will be a source of inspiration and ideas for many in Australia”.

Activist Isaac Nahon-Serfaty, The Conversation, June 26 last year:

Venezuela is on a path towards environmental devastation … (President Nicolas Maduro) opened a large swath of Venezuela (in the fragile ecosystems of the Orinoco region) to national and foreign mining companies … Chavez was the “father” of the idea. So why aren’t any of the global environmental organisations speaking out about it?