Liberals face leadership crisis in fallout from dumb petrol price policy.
It was always going to happen. But it has happened fast and it needs to be resolved fast, or the federal liberal party will go the same way as its state counterparts. Already, there is real damage being done to the Opposition as Mark Bahnisch points out.
No-one with the slightest understanding of Australian political history would have plumped for an unpaid for billion dollar plus populist bribe in their first budget-in-reply speech as Brendan Nelson did last week. The speech was classic Nelson, a few nice lines but hopeless on the substance.
Ever since Malcolm Fraser's disgraceful budget in 1982 (which followed that other Fraser / Howard obscenity the 1977 'fist full of dollars') the trend in Australian politics has been towards more accountability and transparency in political promises.
The Australian convention now is that all promises be properly costed and paid for with tax changes or expenditure savings. Nelson has stupidly tried to turn his back on this important convention and reverse a quarter of a century of progress in accountability.
Following the outrageous spending of the Liberals under Howard in recent years, it is particularly important that the Nelson exercised is seen for what it is - a return to the economic dark ages in Australian national politics.
Malcolm Turnbull was the logical choice (after Peter Costello's withdrawal) for the Liberal leadership precisely because, whatever other faults he might have, he has economic policy credibility.
Nelson's petrol price bribe (which is also foolish on a number of other counts) has left him wide open on his most vulnerable flank to attacks from both within the Liberal Party and from the Government. Not a great tactical move.
No-one with the slightest understanding of Australian political history would have plumped for an unpaid for billion dollar plus populist bribe in their first budget-in-reply speech as Brendan Nelson did last week. The speech was classic Nelson, a few nice lines but hopeless on the substance.
Ever since Malcolm Fraser's disgraceful budget in 1982 (which followed that other Fraser / Howard obscenity the 1977 'fist full of dollars') the trend in Australian politics has been towards more accountability and transparency in political promises.
The Australian convention now is that all promises be properly costed and paid for with tax changes or expenditure savings. Nelson has stupidly tried to turn his back on this important convention and reverse a quarter of a century of progress in accountability.
Following the outrageous spending of the Liberals under Howard in recent years, it is particularly important that the Nelson exercised is seen for what it is - a return to the economic dark ages in Australian national politics.
Malcolm Turnbull was the logical choice (after Peter Costello's withdrawal) for the Liberal leadership precisely because, whatever other faults he might have, he has economic policy credibility.
Nelson's petrol price bribe (which is also foolish on a number of other counts) has left him wide open on his most vulnerable flank to attacks from both within the Liberal Party and from the Government. Not a great tactical move.
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