• Opinion: Which idea of conservatism will Prime Minister Scott Morrison embrace?
    2 replies, posted
https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/226043/87e58a35-18ef-49a9-adc2-82177210ae0b/263AFEEB-14DA-4350-BB48-C36450916C20.jpeg Conservatives in Australia are up for a fight. They are determined to recapture their heartland, reclaim the political right from the progressive interlopers: they are marking out their territory and it is as much about identity as ideology. The failed Dutton putsch in Canberra has only served to expose the schism in the Liberal Party; the "insurgents" seek to capitalise on the fault lines that have ruptured the politics of much of the rest of the world. They are attuned to the trends that have helped put Donald Trump in the White House and led Britons to vote to exit the European Union: a blowback against globalisation, a challenge to the hegemony of cosmopolitan city-based elites, resistance to increased immigration, stronger borders, and trade policy that puts citizens first. The drift to Pauline Hanson's One Nation, the election of more independents, increasing voter volatility and a loss of faith in the major parties, and institutions in Australia, tempt these conservatives, that there may well be fertile ground for a similar right-wing populism here. Conservatives sense an opportunity: current opinion polls may not be with them; they are judging the times may be. But these are not your grandparents' conservatives: these conservatives are a break with their own tradition. ... Here is the dilemma for the Liberal Party: the "broad church" of conservatives and liberal progressives is fractured; there is a civil war for the soul of the party: a war for identity. Scruton says conservatives in recent times "have not always been clear as to the source of their beliefs". Now he says, they are seeking to reinvigorate themselves, "emphasising the defence of the homeland, the maintenance of national borders, and the unity and integrity of the nation". To that we can add freedom of speech and religion: countering what they see as an attack on western traditions and Christianity. This is the political message that has resonated in the United States and across Europe, with those who feel left behind, who have seen their factories close and their jobs shifted off shore; who believe they have lost control of their borders, who feel they've lost their nation. Scott Morrison has already shown he is alert to these trends with his Australian flag lapel pin, his careful avoidance of the language of climate change, his have-a-go-to-get-a-go mantra, his championing of small business, his talk of integration. He voted against same-sex marriage and boasts of stopping the boats and strengthening the border as a former immigration minister. His personal life — he is a churchgoer and represents simple, suburban values — embellish his conservative appeal. Mr Morrison is more authentically conservative than Malcolm Turnbull and more electorally appealing than Mr Dutton (even if initial polls have him significantly trailing Labor's Bill Shorten). But for all that, if recent history is a guide, there are those in his party who will seek to pull him even further to the right. ... Read the rest of the article by Stan Grant at Which idea of conservatism will Prime Minister Scott Morrison em.. Stan Grant is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Chief Asia Correspondent, and host of current affairs program Matter of Fact
They're not going to reclaim any political heartland. They quite firmly drove that away when they discarded their most progressive leader in decades for Abbott-lite.
Yeah memories of Abbot and the global political train wrecks going right now make conservative politics a very hard sell in Australia. In related news that doesn't really deserve it's own thread, Liberals have likely lost a 60 year long safe seat to an independent: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-09/antony-green-calls-by-election-for-joe-mcgirr/10219584 Things aren't looking good for them.
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