Authenticity for Liberals need not be at the cost of continuity

Whether intentionally or not, Scott Morrison has just set the agenda for the 2019 Liberal election campaign. Get used to these three words: authentic, pragmatic, fair. In his speech to the Liberal Federal Council, the Treasurer sounded like a leader. Malcolm Turnbull sounded like he was trying. And Julie Bishop, the usually composed foreign minister, looked assailed by reality. If whispers are anything to go by, the truth is now unavoidable: Turnbull’s farewell tour has begun.

Subtle jostling for the PM’s chair is under way. Morrison is campaigning as authentic. It’s a tactical coup but he will struggle to convince as the leader of an authentically Liberal campaign. As Treasurer in a party philosophically aligned to classical liberalism, he has rubber-stamped big government programs, stimulus policies, a bank levy and a range of measures perceived as punitive to wealth creators. His get out of jail card is printed “pragmatic”.

In his speech, Morrison touted post-partisan politics to accommodate a non-ideological age. A post-partisan Liberal politics is ­required to embrace what Morrison calls “the new reality”. This ­reality apparently means we must not rely on “past political orthodoxies”. But the reason provided for not following political traditions is rather odd. Apparently, they should not be followed simply “because they worked before”. Morrison believes the political and economic times have changed. As a result of such change, the Liberal Party must govern for the times.

Post-partisan, non-ideological, pragmatic. A party for the times, for the people. Change, hope, fairness. He said it so well. The delivery was smooth, the tone was warm and the pacing perfect. The only question is, who said it better: Turnbull, Morrison or Barack Obama? If the Liberal Party’s new rhetoric sounds familiar, it should. It echoes Obama’s early campaign material. More concerning is the apparent use of linguistic framing and option restriction in recent speeches. For example, “new ­reality” versus “past political ­orthodoxies” gives two ­options. But Morrison never proves there are only two options, or why tradition is conflated with orthodoxy and relegated to the past.

A right-leaning political party that rejects traditions on the basis they are traditions is doomed to failure. Conservatism is built on the method of preserving what works and developing it, while being open to new ideas that might advance Western civilisation. The government’s new agenda and the rhetoric used to pitch it are more reminiscent of American progressivism than the classical liberal ideas and conservative values that form the philosophical basis of the Liberal Party.

The sharpest tool in Morrison’s shed is authenticity. But the Liberals must face the reality that they can’t fake it to make it. If they choose an agenda of authenticity — and I think they should — it means radical change. Politics will go local. Community engagement is a key strategy and should ­include reaching out to marginal electorates. Pragmatic policy ­develop­ment and the capacity to demonstrate outcomes on big spender programs in infrastructure and education will be required before the next election. Cut out the PC virtue signalling on social media. Don’t talk down to people. The “outsiders” aren’t stupid, they’re angry — for good reason.

Repair the relationship with the Liberal base by introducing a one-member, one-vote system in preselection. Have faith in the base. If it doesn’t work, you can ­reform the process in the future. Be prepared to demonstrate that you are honest, transparent, ­accountable and of good character. Be prepar ed to apologise when you fall short. And most of all, be prepared to lose the next election. If you’re not willing to reckon with electoral loss, drop authenticity and peddle spin instead. You’ll probably kill the Liberal Party, but just might win the election battle if Labor makes a fatal error.

At a structural level, authen­ticity requires a set of clear party principles and demonstration of how policies flow from them. At present, the Liberal agenda looks like chaos. There is no policy ­coherence. There is no sense of a unified vision. There is no clear translation of enduring party principles into a coherent policy framework. Turnbull’s rejection of ideology and fondness for agility and disruption has led to a breakdown in the system of ideas ­required for any party to govern coherently. It intensifies factional wars and renders the coalition vulnerable to the power of constancy and collectivism produced by Labor ideology.

The government could consider the Liberal federal platform as a starting point for a principled policy framework. It must begin to connect the most essential Liberal principles to current policy and strategies. A community engagement strategy, for example, reinforces the key Liberal principle that the citizen should govern the state, not the reverse. You do not need to reject principles that have endured the test of time. You need to renew them. Reanimate Liberal principles by acting on them.

The pragmatic approach celebrated by Turnbull and Morrison is a dream for policy wonks, but political parties need more than method to matter. They need to create meaning, frames of reference and a sense of shared destiny among their members and the broader polis. They need to make sense. The continuity of values and principles is essential. On the left, continuity is created by ideology. On the right, the values of ­Judaeo-Christianity and the ­Enlightenment sustain the continuous living tradition of Western civilisation defended by conservatives and classical liberals.

For all its lethal contradictions, ideology provides a system for ideas with beginning and end points that ground political movements and parties when they veer off course. There is a risk that the Liberal ideology-free zone will be seen as a road to nowhere.

Right-leaning parties need to consider more broadly what they represent. A campaign on authenticity is not for the faint-hearted. Authenticity begins with realism and an unfortunate reality is that, at present, the Liberal Party leadership is considered broadly inauthentic. I agree with Morrison that a new reality is coming. But be prepared for a painful delivery.