Why Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have the perfect partnership
In the end, however, Morrison manufactured a remarkable comeback to win last year’s federal election, and now the pandemic has seen his personal ratings soar. Despite the aged care crisis he’s now dealing with, Morrison looks a near certainty to win the next federal election.
One feature of the last two years which has received little attention is the good working relationship Morrison and his Liberal Party deputy and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have. Indeed as they continue to have. It is unusual historically for Liberal leaders and their party deputy to get along so well.
To be sure, one of the reasons Morrison and Frydenberg’s relationship is so strong is because there isn’t much of a rivalry. Certainly not yet. The PM is secure in his leadership and Frydenberg — while ambitious — isn’t in a rush to press his need to take over.
Even though there is only three years’ age difference between the pair — Morrison is 53, Frydenberg 49 — the Treasurer knows that time is on his side to one day become Liberal leader, and the PM knows after his 2019 election win his leadership is stable. Unusual in the modern era.
Make no mistake, this is unusual in Liberal Party historical terms too. Not since Harold Holt’s close working relationship with Prime Minister Robert Menzies has a Liberal leader and deputy gotten along so well.
Think about all the tensions between John Gorton and Billy McMahon. Between Andrew Peacock and John Howard. Indeed between Howard and Peter Costello, notwithstanding the success of the Coalition government they served. Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop had tensions in both opposition and government as Liberal leader and deputy.
The fact Morrison and Frydenberg have proven capable of working effectively together is a credit to both men: to the PM for not deliberately trying to damage Frydenberg’s standing as the natural heir apparent in order to sure up his own dominance. It’s something Howard regularly did to Costello by promoting the value of Peter Reith then Tony Abbott and then Malcolm Turnbull. All promoted to serve as counterweights to Costello.
And the good relationship between Morrison and Frydenberg is a credit to the Treasurer too, for not letting ambition get in the way of the need to present a united front — especially after so many years of destabilisation during the years Turnbull and Abbott were at loggerheads.
The key now for both men is to make sure they use their good working relationship to manage Australia out of the recession we are now in.
Peter van Onselen is a professor of politics and public policy at the University of Western Australia and Griffith University.
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