Reflecting on the Abbott years of leadership in Australian politics elicited a wild mix of amusement, cringe and blind fury as the first episode of the ABC’s ‘Nemesis’ aired last night.
Looking back at that time, Abbott’s election felt like a momentary blip in ‘politics as normal’. Dubbed the unelectable “Mad Monk”, his decisive victory against Kevin Rudd left many Australians (even supporters) scratching their heads. Surely this was an aberration that would soon be set straight?
Of course, as things rolled on, we started to realise that Abbott wasn’t an isolated issue, he was the tip of the iceberg for a coalition party ripe to rupture at the seams. An era of Abbott, Turnbull, Morrison and now Dutton leaderships ensued, illuminating how far wrong things could go?
Some other key take-aways from last night’s episode:
Tony Abbott’s myriad gaffes are much funnier in retrospect
Reflecting on the numerous times Tony Abbott embarrassed himself royally in public brings so much more joy now, than when he was leading the country. Now, we can look back on that classic onion chow-down and chuckle freely without worrying about his actual power and influence. The “suppository of wisdom” that knighted Prince Philip at a time he was already precariously low in the polls. Lols aplenty? “You bet you are”.
Fear campaigns still lie at the heart of the Liberal agenda
In what seemed like glee and admiration, colleagues like Eric Abetz and Michaelia Cash reflected on Abbott’s cunning ability to utilise three-word slogans to engender fear in the Australian populace. “Stop the boats”, “Stop the taxes”, lines that were drilled into our national psyche for months and caused Australians to stop caring about anything progressive and aspirational. More than a decade on, we see Peter Dutton employ similar fear campaigns in a bid to divide the country: “Boycott Woolworths”, et al.
Legacy matters nought for any of these blokes
Wyatt Roy recounted a conversation with Tony Abbott in which he queried the leader’s vision for the country. He didn’t receive a productive or professional response. The reason? Abbott could only ever fight for what he was against, not what he stood for. Turnbull showed promise for better things, but his commitment to the cause inevitably fell short. Why did we end up with an economically and socially costly plebiscite on gay marriage for instance, rather than a leader’s call? Morrison always cared more about politics (and God) than good policy. He openly admitted to “not thinking” about legacy. And Dutton? Well his time continues, but let’s just say the markers of anything impressive aren’t showing up strong.
Craig Laundy really hates tuna
In perhaps the oddest anecdote from last night’s episode, former MP Craig Laundy revealed that during a secret leadership spill meeting at Peter Hendy’s house, he was offered dinner. Upon finding out Hendy’s wife had dared to cook tuna mornay, Laundy suggested they order pizza because: “I really can’t do tuna”. Big stuff.
“You reap what you sow”
These are the words of Linda Reynolds and other colleagues reflecting on Turnbull’s inevitable ousting of Abbott. But is this what real leadership boils down to? We blindly accept that ego and revenge defined this long era in political history; that Abbott, Turnbull and then Morrison, were destined to fail because of their personal agendas and vendettas. But imagine, for a second, if each had played honourably? If they’d accepted democratic processes and just got on with it? It does beg the question: where would we be now? We might have more policies to be proud about.