Absurd Turnbull missed chance for reconciliation with Abbott

Turnbull and Abbott are effectively at war, and sitting down to a good lunch seems ­almost impossible.

Nick Greiner will have earned his new job title as federal president of the Liberal Party if he can bring Malcolm Turnbull and the man he ousted as prime minister, Tony Abbott, together to discuss their respective contributions to the malaise eating away at the standing of the party.

When Greiner makes these two phones calls it will be a valiant attempt to resolve a critical problem, but it will also be at least six months too late. These two men are effectively at war, and sitting down to a good lunch seems ­almost impossible.

Nick Greiner.

Any sensible leader would never put pride or ego ahead of electoral victory. This is a leap our PM has found utterly impossible to attempt. It is now little more than a week since Turnbull made that absurd speech in London where, in a somewhat delusional performance, he sought either to emulate Robert Menzies as the personalised heart and soul of the Liberal Party or he believed he was somehow the reincarnation of the great man.

The speech was crafted to claim that Turnbull and his ilk were the present-day carriers of the Menzies tradition. By contrast, Abbott and the right of the party were out of step with that Menzies spirit. As far as Turnbull was concerned there was simply no place in the modern Liberal Party for anyone with a philosophy different to his.

Never before was the paucity of Turnbull’s leadership on full public view. Where is the inspiration in a man capable of leading a party of only his clones? Does he believe that his hold on the top job is so tenuous that all those who refuse to salute as he walks past should be shot? Just how does Abbott feel about being cast as some sort of Liberal impostor, not only unworthy to be leader but not good enough to even be a member of the party he has served for ­decades?

The rightful place in the party of the most popular Liberal elder, John Howard, must be in question too. Turnbull’s paltry performance pales into insignificance against that of Howard, who as prime minister knew how to lead a party with a broad range of members. Howard was a real leader. He could keep people with a range of views inside the one tent and ­ensure relative harmony. His focus was never on himself.

Howard kept his focus on the two main challenges of Liberal leadership. He was able to run the country and run his party with considerable skill. That he could do this ­really well for the first eight of his 10-year reign is a real credit to him.

In less than two years, Turnbull’s leadership has been characterised by chaos, dis­unity and profound disappointment. He stumbled through a horrendously long election campaign and ended up with a wafer-thin one seat parliamentary majority. Another year has passed since that election and almost every indicator, both economic and political, has taken a turn for the worse. Seeking comfort in the arms of a man who died 50 years ago is as desperate as it is doomed to fail.