Coronavirus: Scott Morrison rewarded for being cool in a crisis

While Monday’s Newspoll might have been just one opinion poll, it certainly was a telling one, highlighting the community’s support for the Prime Minister and his handling of the coronavirus crisis so far.

Scott Morrison’s team is quick to note that the stunning turnaround could just as easily go the other way in the weeks and months ahead as job losses and lockdowns bite. Kevin Rudd received a surge in support during the global financial crisis, only to watch it ebb away in its aftermath as failures like the insulation batts fiasco came to light.

However, for now the polls ­endorsing Morrison’s actions are deserved. And the size of the bounce in personal support is staggering. He may have started this crisis a little shaky — sending conflicting messages about social distancing, for example, when saying he’d be attending a weekend football match. But in more recent times the PM has been clear in his rhetoric and appropriately swift and decisive with his actions.

Last Monday’s $130bn jobs package was quickly followed up with actions to save the childcare sector, and putting in place measures from mental health awareness to domestic violence initiatives to account for the social challenges a lockdown present.

And the timing of the health response seems to have avoided Australia encountering problems such as those of Britain and the US.

A similar fate for Australia might have eventuated if the PM had acted a week or two later. Australians polled seem to realise he avoided that mistake, and are giving him due credit. A satisfaction rating of 61 per cent says it all, even if the two-party lead (51-49 per cent) remains narrow.

A crisis is supposed to bring the best out of a leader. It is supposed to give them a chance to shine. But Donald Trump and Boris Johnston haven’t, irrespective of what domestic polls reveal. Morrison has, certainly in the past week.

The PM’s mishandling of the bushfires and his ill-fated decision to holiday in Hawaii while Australia burned added up to the potential that he wouldn’t step up during this crisis. But he has — in policy responses and rhetoric. Also as a leader willing to consult premiers and bring the nation with him.

One Newspoll doesn’t make a leader. But the PM is showing all the signs that the coronavirus crisis and his handling of it are a new beginning for his leadership.

A test, so far at least, he is passing with flying colours.

Peter van Onselen is political editor for Network 10 and professor of politics and public policy at the University of Western Australia and Griffith University.