Palmer deal betrays PM’s whatever-it-takes desperation

Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: AAP

It would appear that Scott Morrison has something in common with my good self.

He will do whatever it takes to win this election. My evidence for this claim is that he is right now sealing a deal with Clive Palmer for preferences.

Most of Palmer’s preferences will go to the Coalition anyway, so you would have to surmise that the Coalition is desperate for every vote.

In typical Palmer style, he sees no problem in rubbishing Labor and the Coalition in his advertising blitz but still advocates giving preferences to the Coalition.

Palmer is hoping there is a new generation of voters who have been living under a rock and are blissfully unaware of his past ­behaviour.

The problem for the Prime Minister is that he knows he will lose even more seats in Victoria, now the red heart of Australia.

The most rabid conservative would have to concede that ­Western Australia and Queensland would be likely to swing somewhat to Labor, so more seats could well be lost there.

Where, then, can the Coalition win some seats to be competitive? It is no doubt looking at Tasmania, where it might pick up one or two seats, but the mainland looks bleak for it.

Queensland has been a bastion for the Coalition for a very long time but change is in the offing. Labor could win as many as five seats in that state alone. This would be enough to make Joh Bjelke-Petersen turn in his grave.

Daniel Andrews has had such a profound effect in Victoria that the Liberals barely hold seats in whole swags of the city of Melbourne.

It will be many years before we see another Liberal government in Victoria and this must be a major concern for Josh Frydenberg and Greg Hunt, who are running out of wagons to circle.

The Coalition will have to find a way to crack Labor’s hold in the deep south or face a long period with their noses pressed up against the window pane trying to get a glimpse of what power looks like.

The 24-hour media cycle means that we will not see again a 16-year reign like Robert Menzies had. The political cycles will come and go much more quickly.

As in a relay where one runner drops the baton and another picks it up, Morrison is still suffering from the messy end to the Turnbull era.

Bill Shorten’s numbers are still pretty ordinary, particularly in NSW, where the voters just don’t like him. Still, support for the party could deliver him a very handsome victory.

It would seem that the mob don’t have to like you, they just have to be prepared to wear you. So while the Opposition Leader may not be the answer to a voter’s prayer, he is respected enough to win the top job.

While I cannot stand the sight of Palmer on the television, he has done us a great favour. He has ­stolen much of Pauline Hanson’s airtime — and for that we all owe Clive at least some thanks and gratitude.