Hockey would be a disaster as Opposition Leader
|
If you had any doubts that Joe Hockey would be an absolute disaster as Opposition Leader, yesterday should have dispelled them. There’s something weird going on in the Liberal Party at the moment, whereby if you perform diligently and competently in your portfolio, you are left to labour in obscurity. But if you either ignore your portfolio in favour of offering a running commentary on your own party, like Tony Abbott, or you fail to use regular opportunities to land some blows on your opposite number in an important portfolio like Health — that’s Peter Dutton — you get spoken of as a possible leader. And if you’ve made a hash of a critical portfolio like Treasury, you get sounded out to step into the top job. Joe Hockey has had two goods ideas as shadow Treasurer: a Public Register of Government Borrowings, which he negotiated for Wayne Swan to take up, and breathing life into the non-bank mortgage market via guarantees for appropriately-graded securities. The rest of his tenure has been a shocker. From bagging the G20 and Barack Obama, to saying low interest rates were more important than jobs, to prematurely committing the Coalition to hacking Government spending back to 24% of GDP — a position today repudiated by Malcolm Turnbull — Hockey has shown a disposition to open his mouth first and think later. Much of the business community regards him as, not to put too fine a point on it, a clown. They may disagree with Malcolm Turnbull’s economic policies, and think he is disposed to the occasional brain-snap, but they know he is a figure of substance, and always has been. Hockey is an amiable lightweight at best. And he displayed that again yesterday when he was asked by Neil Mitchell whether he’d been sounded out for the leadership. “I am not going to lie and pretend something hasn’t happened,” was Hockey’s reply. At best it was naive. At worst, it looked like deliberate destabilisation cloaked in sanctimony. Nothing could have been more calculated to add to the Coalition’s turmoil engendered by the pitched battle over the Government’s CPRS. Nothing. For a start, Hockey could have lied. Or he could have declined to answer the question, declared “I’m not going to talk about the leadership.” But no, he had to throw some petrol on the fire that is consuming Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership. The turmoil within the Liberals has come about for two reasons. Malcolm Turnbull’s brain-snap last week in lashing out at his critics was the immediate cause, but that was merely the product of the incessant sniping that has broken out since Andrew Robb took time off. Ian Macfarlane has calmly and sensibly gone about his job of crafting the CPRS amendments, but the absence of Robb has given their opponents licence to break cover and try to overturn shadow Cabinet’s decision to negotiate an end to the havoc emissions trading is wreaking on the Coalition. The Liberals, and for that matter anyone who wants a functional Opposition — which should be the rest of us — need Andrew Robb back on deck as soon as possible to start righting what is a badly-listing vessel. If Malcolm Turnbull survives, he needs Robb, preferably in the shadow Treasurership, to try to give some much-needed substance to the Coalition’s economic credentials, and start restoring the Opposition’s standing with the business community, especially in Melbourne, where Joe Hockey is not as well-known as he is in Sydney. Quite how Turnbull and Hockey are going to elicit strong financial support from their traditional donor base in the lead-up to the next election is a mystery. The promotion of Robb won’t happen, of course, given Hockey now has leadership-rival status and any move would be seen as a demotion. Like Julie Bishop, the Liberals are stuck with an underperformer in a senior position. The only way to fix the problem of Hockey’s underperformance is to promote him. And anyway Robb, of course, remains ill. He has perhaps wisely dealt himself out of the current turmoil. His office says he is “unavailable” for at least a week. The departure of Peter Costello also focuses attention on another aspect of the leadership turmoil. There has not been a Victorian leader of the Liberal Party since the end of the 1980s, in the dapper form of Andrew Peacock. The rest have been from Sydney, excepting Alexander Downer, and the two post-Turnbull candidates currently being mooted are both from Sydney as well. Costello is said to have been busy promoting Hockey as a suitable replacement for Turnbull. In the event that a majority of Liberals decide that Turnbull is no longer viable, replacing him with another Sydney moderate, in the form of Hockey, or an arch-conservative like Abbott, is unlikely to solve the party’s deep internal divisions. But Andrew Robb, once he recovers his health, might. |
|
|
|
20 Comments
BK, you have hit the jackpot with the two lead articles in Crikey.
Joe Hockey doesn’t do serious well at all and appears to be unable to think on the run, as his foot in mouth response cited above indicates.
This country really needs the Opposition to get their act together.
a disaster indeed but f*ck it would be funny for a couple of months
Excellent summation of the Opposition BK and the pretenders to the leadership. I am pleased the media generally, Crikey particularly has lead the way, in exposing the spoilt brat Dutton for the lazy sod he has been. He seems doomed to oblivion, barring miracles, with his preferred electorates not wanting a bar of him. Abbott continues to burble on, probably being encouraged by his mate Howard from the sideline.
Hockey yesterday and today showed what a sneeky sly individual he has become and you are right on the mark Bernard, he deliberately poured petrol on the leadership fire yesterday.
What a bunch of either yesterdays losers or todays wanabe’s. None showing any credentials as future Prime Minister, in reality none showing leadership qualities of any kind. Look what you’ve done John Howard, have a good look at the mess you left behind as you were rightly booted out.
Todays unemployment figures, also gave the finger not only to Hockey and Turnbull but also the smart economists and bankers who preached doom and gloom.
Now I hear just this minute the Opposition making another of their rediculous claims, the strength of the Labour market and the improving economy is all due to Howard and his Govt!!!!When will they learn? When?
A good commentary. Joe, indeed, would be a disaster and any Federal Liberal MP’s sounding him out for the job of leader must be trouble-makers or idiots or both.
Anthony Dale
But he is fat and jolly (kind of) and a loudmouth standing around the barbeque. What more do you want in a leader?
Excellent BK: Your opinion has confirmed my wildest fears. Joe Hockey looks like a clown and he is a clown. As for his specious comment to Neil Mitchell-well that’s just adding the bells and whistles.
I have had an un-nerving thought. What would happen to the Liberals if Malcolm Turnbull dropped dead during the first week on returning to Parliament? Yes, the head of the so called National Party would fill the position. But would Julie Bishop automatically get the top job; in as much as she would be the highest ranking member of the Liberal Party? I don’t think so. My point being, why have an also- ran occupying an important, and doubtless costly for the taxpayer, position? After all, if something untoward should happen to Kevin Rudd I would be confident that Julia Gillard would be an excellent PM.
“…Hockey is an amiable lightweight at best…”
Thank God we can finally agree on something Bernard.
I was beginning to have my doubts.
I also note that you have now embraced my earlier prediction on Andrew Robb.
But…RoadblocK.
Mr Robb is an avowed climate skeptic.
How’s that going to sit with you?
Perhaps the Libs have too much store in the fact post Sunrise 7 gig that at least Joe wouldn’t try and deconstruct the national tv or radio format in the middle of an interview, which Turnbull has done unwisely twice in the last month: It’s like seeing how sausages are made, the admittedly small audience can only but squirm. If Turnbull didn’t want to subject himself to the discipline of an abc RN, or 7.30 Report, interview then why consent to it? It’s no good complaining about Kerry’s questions being too long, or that Fran Kelly is repeating the Nelson innuendo about narcissism after taking the interview.
Indeed isn’t that what the grind of Opposition is all about, grovelling for every PR half chance, not biting the big media hand?
Doubt very much Tom if the hapless Turnbull endeared himself to the massed media scrum this morning either. He and Joe must regard all but themselves to be fools, if they expected that circus act to convince anyone it wasn’t contrived, to appear as if the pair of them were bosom buddies. Policy revealed my arse. Turnbull should beware the large jovial smiling crocodile, who proclaimed his everlasting love and loyalty this morning. The whole show was a farce and a very bad one at that.
To Labor voters the escalation of either Hockey or Abbott to the Liberal leadership would be a wonderful gift. Turnbull is starting to look like yesterday’s man. The difficulty for the Libs is who next to choose - Dutton, the star who runs at the thought of a fight. Despite their rhetoric about the Liberal party being full to the gunnels with star power it is very hard to actually come up with one star.
Raymond: Be very careful here. What were Joe-boy’s actual words? De he promise joy, happiness and fealty to Malcolm Turnbull in words. Of did he use the more ambiguous term: leader?
BK said: “Hockey has shown a disposition to open his mouth first and think later.”
That just shows that he’s a career politician, after all the definition of a politician is someone who approaches every problem with an open mouth.
Banginon said: “But he is fat and jolly (kind of) and a loudmouth standing around the barbeque. What more do you want in a leader?”
That’s a good question. It was said of the American electorate during the Bush vs Gore campaign that most men would vote for the guy they could stand around a barbecue and have a beer with. Exit Gore.
If that test were applied to a Rudd vs Turnbull contest Malcolm wouldn’t stand a chance because, despite his fairly ordinary upbringing, he simply lacks the common touch when it comes to dealing with people.
However, a Rudd vs Hockey contest on the BBQ test would be very interesting indeed. Although Hockey apparently has all of the requisite approachability and bonhomie, so does Rudd. I think the secret to Rudd’s continuing success in the polls is his uncanny ability to appear to be one of the blokes.
To me, there are also some similarities between Hockey and Kim Beasley. Kim was always seen as a “good bloke”, but too much of a lightweight — politically not intellectually — to appeal to the electorate as Prime Minister material.
BK
“Hockey would be a disaster as Opposition Leader”
I agree and it will not be good for any of us who believe in strong opposition, but I have come to expect nothing less than another disaster.
MPM
“Mr Robb is an avowed climate skeptic. How’s that going to sit with you?”
I believe you miss the point, a healthy oppositon could well be a bunch of skeptics that oppose government if only they were consistent, and it appears that the opposition representatives are mostly skeptics, if indeed Turnbull is overturned.
VA
Julie could well be in that job without a mishap, as it is such a poisoned challice role in oppositon leadership that nobody really wants it, she might be the only person ‘man enough’ to take it on (ref: Guy Rundle)
BG
I think the BBQ test has a low reliability for prediction of voter intention, and consquently leader choice by the party, however if it is, Rudd is certainly more of a boring boyscout than Hockey but Joe has a certain badland shrekish quality that would him leave him off a lot voters bbq invitation lists.
Evidently: There’s something in what you say about both of them, but both Rudd and Hockey displayed folksy popular appeal when they made regular appearances together on Channel 7’s Sunrise program.
By comparison, I could never see Turnbull in that role on a continuing basis. Abbott might agree to it but I doubt that the program’s producers would regard him as a positive for their audience retention during that segment.
(I note that I have misspelt Kim Beazley’s name earlier.)
I esp appreciated Lord Bunter, from the airs & graces of Europe, turning into Lady Bracknell,
“..to lose one leader is unfortunate, to lose two seems like carelessness”.
And three or more would overload Dorian’s picture, with the Lib party stumbling on, young as ever.
Hockey could out-Downer Downer as Opposition Leader - “The Things That Blather”.
Yes, there is the blather factor, but Downer blathers like the head of a debating team at some posh school making Hockey marginally easier to endure.
People who sneer in blogs at politicians and political parties they don’t like should sometimes sit back and take a look at themselves, or at least what they say. The picture of the not very smart or well-informed adopting a pose of superiority is both irritating and ludicrous. But you are right Bernard. And the thought that members of the Libaral backbench are encouraging Hockey to think of himself as leader is indeed a gloomy one for those who share your view that we need a strong opposition. My take on this adds gloomy thought, namely that there are far too many Coalition MPs (and no doubt Labor MPs too) who are not smart enough to be able to understand how much smarter than them Turnbull is. Mind you that obviously doesn’t guarantee that he is capable of leading the Opposition back into government but when you put his brains, his experience (unfortunately just lacking that adult-life-long inculturation of the Keatings, Holts, Peacocks, Frasers and others who started their politics v. young) and his resilience together with his extraordinary energy you have the mixture right for the job. Like Kennett with more IQ points.
EVIDENTLY: Re: Julie Bishop. You do have a valid point.
Ah i remember the days when crikey wrote blog after blog bitching about how the “media bias” was keeping labor out of government. I hope you finally realise something for next time labor are in opposition and the moans start again - the media are not picking sides - you could say that they’re increidbly biased against the liberals now. However we all know the truth - the liberals have no hope in hell of winning for at least several years so the media think they’ll make more money undermining their leaders.