Liberal Party chaos continues as leadership rivals circle a weakened Sussan Ley
As the conga line of aspirants challenge Sussan Ley, the Libs prove once again that the smaller the stakes, the fiercer the fight — and the thinner the talent pool, writes Samantha Maiden.
One of the great lessons in life is that the smaller the stakes, the bigger the stupid fights.
Whether it’s office politics, student politics or a private school ding-dong, almost everyone has seen it in action.
It describes a phenomenon where disputes become more intense as the importance of the issue decreases.
Watching a conga line of political aspirants step forward to relieve Sussan Ley of the burden of leadership before she’s had a chance to sit down, the concept of Sayre’s Law comes to mind.
It suggests that the fierceness of a conflict is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake.
Sayre’s Law states that in any dispute, the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake.
Sayre’s Law is named after Wallace Stanley Sayre, a US political scientist and professor at Columbia University, who observed 50 years ago that “academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low”.
Behold, I give you: office politics, student politics, ALP branches having a big blue over a procedural motion, girls buying the same Year 10 formal dress, local councils going wild, or – as is more relevant in this arena – the Liberal Party of Australia.
Now don’t get me wrong, a tough and effective opposition is vital to a responsible government.
But lately it’s barely about policy – Sussan Ley has flipped on net zero anyway – and more about giant egos in inverse proportion to actual talent.
And what are they fighting over? Who has a dog in the fight?
Consider this. The Liberal Party of Australia has just 18 MPs in the House of Representatives – or more correctly 34 if you include the 16 Liberal National Party of Queensland MPs.
That’s right, there are almost as many Queensland MPs as there are in the rest of the country.
And just over 30 MPs – and a few more over in the Senate – are fighting like cats in a bag over the spoils of defeat.
In doing so, they are making it impossible for the woman they put in the job two seconds ago to ever have a fair crack.
As Henry Kissinger once observed of university politics, they are “vicious precisely because the stakes are so small”.
On that note, please enjoy our cut-and-save guide to the worst houses in the best street: the Liberal frontbench.
Sussan Ley
Just about anyone with common sense can see that, out of an underwhelming crew, Sussan Ley is probably as good as it gets at this stage in the electoral cycle. The common sense crew does not include half the Liberal Party and various loud voices in the media. A grandmother, she’s rolled up her sleeves to mop up the mess and been treated to a frontbench behaving like moaning toddlers throwing their mashed-pumpkin bowls off their IKEA highchairs. Probably won’t survive until the next election, despite the fact it’s debatable there’s anyone better.
Andrew Hastie
If he wants to become leader, he should probably take over the job of manager of opposition business from Alex Hawke, who is a tad embarrassing on the floor of parliament, and actually learn how parliament works. Former SAS soldier with no cabinet experience but a punchy Instagram account. If he keeps hiding on the backbench and waiting to be tapped for greatness, he’ll just end up giving loner Mark Latham vibes. Claims he’s keeping quiet to give Sussan Ley “air.” Enjoy the air while it lasts, Sussan.
Angus Taylor
RM Williams? Tick. Blue tie? Tick, tick. Boarder at The King’s School and Rhodes Scholar? Tick, tick, tick. You know the drill.
The conservative MP from central casting might have been expected to at least have the grey matter to stick to the script and ensure that the Liberals went to the election as the party of lower taxes when he was Peter Dutton’s shadow treasurer. But it turns out, no. Instead, he let himself get rolled by Dutton, who came up with the big idea of a one-off cut to fuel excise instead of a permanent tax cut.
On the culture-war front, he once stated he first encountered “political correctness” in 1991 at Oxford University when “a young Naomi Wolf lived a couple of doors down the corridor”. “Several graduate students … decided we should abandon the Christmas tree in the common room because some people might be offended,” he said. Naomi Wolf later noted Taylor’s recollection was not possible as she left Oxford in 1988, and rejected any implication she opposed Christmas trees, as she “loves Christmas.”
Ted O’Brien
Never heard of him? Join the club. The former climate and energy spokesman turned deputy leader speaks Mandarin, a consequence of spending three years in Taiwan and another three in China in his pre-political life. Which is one of the rare, slightly interesting things about him.
Melissa McIntosh
Liberal frontbencher Melissa McIntosh’s claim to fame is as a grassroots campaigner who hung on to her Penrith-based seat of Lindsay when others failed. She has warned that the major parties are disconnected from middle Australia and have lost the courage for big reforms. This week, she hosted 40 Liberal and Nationals colleagues for drinks, sparking leadership speculation.
“It’s time for a pragmatic policy focus that puts Australian people first,” she said, which is a bit like saying everyone likes rainbows and puppies are cute.
On future leadership ambitions, the 48-year-old said: “I don’t know if it’s a woman thing where you feel like somebody’s going to notice you and you’ll be asked … and I think you come to a realisation in politics that nobody’s going to ask you. You have to have a bit of gumption.”
Tim Wilson
The last moderate in the building, Tim may be forced to turn out the lights. Fought the fight on tax and franking credits and same sex marriage with panache. He also likes horsies.
Tim Wilson recently lambasted the Prime Minister for forcing parliament to sit on Melbourne Cup Day, while at the same time hinting at his own leadership ambitions.
In a tongue-in-cheek post on Facebook, he called Anthony Albanese a “philistine” for scheduling a parliamentary sitting day on the first Tuesday of November.
“Our philistine Prime Minister is forcing parliament to sit on Tuesday, defying Melbourne’s traditions and way of life,” the member for Goldstein wrote. “I make this commitment: this will never happen under a Wilson government.”
Voters, charge your French-champagne glasses for Tim.
Originally published as Liberal Party chaos continues as leadership rivals circle a weakened Sussan Ley
Coalition suffers massive poll blow
