Scott Morrison touches down for election take-off

Scott Morrison arrives back in Sydney on Thursday after attending the UN climate change summit COP26 in Glasgow. Picture: Adam Taylor / PMO

Strap yourselves in. The election campaign is about to start.

With his seven-day overseas trip done, Scott Morrison can concentrate on a domestic blitz selling his climate and economic credentials in battleground seats.

Morrison, who was talked into attending the G20 and COP26, had more to lose than gain by going to the Rome and Glasgow summits. Months out from a federal election to be fought on the economy, health response and national security, the Prime Minister’s European tour was an ugly ­distraction but not one that will materially impact the choice of voters come polling day.

For all the anxiety around Morrison’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050, it was Emmanuel Macron’s white-hot anger and diplomatic grenades that blew up the trip. In what should have been an omen, Morrison’s plane was delayed out of the RAAF Fairbairn base last Thursday after Macron called him for the first time since the submarine contract was torn up.

Morrison’s small-target focus at the G20 summit – an international crackdown against bad online behaviour – seemed to reflect his enthusiasm for being in Rome.

When the French President hosted Joe Biden on Friday ­before the G20 summit began, the cat was out of the bag. In a blatant attempt to curry favour with Macron, the US President blamed Australia for his government’s falling out with France over its role in swiping the $90bn Naval Group submarines contract.

Biden’s “clumsy” comment, Morrison scrambling to neutralise rolling flashpoints with France, awkward handshakes, leaked texts and ultimately Macron’s suggestion the Prime Minister had “lied” to him about the Naval contract poured cold water on Australian officials.

When you’re not playing ­offence in global diplomacy or domestic politics, you start firmly on the back foot.

The COP26 summit has been an organisational shambles. It is more likely to spark a global super-spreader event – with lax Covid rules and more than 20,000 flooding the venue including an army of rent-seekers, billionaire speculators and former politicians – than achieve any tangible outcomes.

As a senior government source described the scene: “Nothing says climate summit like 150 world leaders, billionaires, the royal family flying to Glasgow on their private jets in the middle of a European winter and energy crisis.”

While Morrison understands the importance of the G20 forum, which facilitated co-operation during the global financial crisis and pandemic, and the need for Australia to remain in the climate change tent, the federal election is not far away.

With no requirement to quarantine, Morrison will use the new Covid settings to unleash a massive domestic blitz and campaign in key marginal and target seats.

Coalition and Labor strategists don’t expect climate change will decide the election. They know world-leading vaccine rates, resumption of international travel, fewer Covid-19 restrictions, economic progress and geostrategic concerns about China will dominate the run-in to the election.