In The Conversation, Michelle Grattan writes that two years on, ‘pugilist Abbott leads divisive and divided government’. Also in The Conversation, Dennis Altman writes that Two years in, even supporters despair of Abbott’s feeble government ‘Successful prime ministers find means to unite the nation and move it forward in new directions’.
In ‘The declining attraction of authoritarian leaders’ Roger Scott comparies Abbott, Canada’s Stephen Harper, and Queensland’s Campbell Newman . He writes that Tony Abbott was able to build his appeal to the core supporters of the Liberal Party by contrasting his ‘strong’ persona with those of his predecessors.
In September 2015, at national level, the personality of Abbott – his aggressiveness and his relish for a pugilistic persona – became too much of a problem for the Liberal Party and thus of the Coalition’s future electoral prospects. Because opinion polls consistently rated his personal support well below that of the party he led and the Coalition government he headed. The parallel with Queensland is compelling. The difference being that the Federal party acted with foresight, in part learning the lesson of Queensland. The articles below all preceded the leadership change.
And are there also parallels with Canada’s Prime Minister Harper who faces an election in October? Watch the protest song on uTube below.