Only one reason a Liberal-Hanson deal makes sense |
For those watching politics at the moment, none of it seems to make sense.
Why would the Liberal Party, which arguably has the most to lose, at least in the near term, from One Nation’s insurgency, make a deal to cement its demise?
The answer, as with most things that don’t make sense in Australian politics, is Tony Abbott.
Abbott, as Liberal Party president has one mission – to make it back into parliament and, from there, the leadership. From there, in the mind of Abbott and his backers, it’s a hop, skip and a jump back to The Lodge.
Niki Savva, who remains the best person in the country at analysing Liberal Party politics, with an insight borne of having been inside the tent, but never an ideologue, covers Abbott’s resurgence here.
But for many, the question of why remains.
For that, again, you need to understand Abbott.
Abbott’s star has never truly dimmed for the true believers in the Liberal Party, partly because he never actually had time as prime minister to fully cement his own trashed legacy.
Abbott and his acolytes were responsible for Abbott’s demise. It wasn’t backroom dealing, or Malcolm Turnbull, or the “moderates” – it was Abbott and his lieutenants being given their heads that did it. By the time knights and dames came round, the Australian public was so comprehensively sick of the ridiculousness – budget cuts they couldn’t sell, parliamentary expenses scandals, the dynamic with his chief of staff Peta Credlin, who some Liberals believed was calling the shots – that it all culminated with an internal revolt.
Abbott was........