Why his return to the spotlight risks overshadowing Angus Taylor
Updated ,first published
Did Angus Taylor make a fatal mistake?
Just after 3pm last Friday, former Liberal leader and prime minister Tony Abbott was elected unopposed as the party’s federal chairman.
The role is usually a behind-the-scenes position that requires someone who can gently persuade, occasionally bend the arm, and generally get things done with minimal fuss.
In other words, it’s an approach that’s the exact opposite of Abbott’s tough, take-no-prisoners style, characterized by combative enthusiasm and an unwavering belief in the righteousness of their cause.
Taylor has long backed Abbott, who has been one of his political mentors for years and backed the former prime minister over former foreign secretary Alexander Downer to take over the party leadership.
Downer, himself the party’s deputy leader, declared that his parliamentary colleagues would need to become “media whores” over the next few years to get ahead of the Australian public and persuade them that the current Labor government should be removed from office.
He didn’t have Abbott in mind. In fact, the former prime minister refused interviews about his new role after a rousing five-minute speech on Friday afternoon reminding everyone of his considerable rhetorical skills.
But the Liberal Party chairmanship is the most front-line political role Mr Abbott has held since losing the seat of Warringah to independent Zali Steggall in 2019.
Abbott couldn’t resist the temptation of the spotlight Monday morning, just three days after he was elected president.
Abbott appeared repeatedly on Nine’s. Today programme, the ABC’s Radio National breakfast show and Sky News. He also sent a fundraising email to members.
During these TV ads, she looked as polished and focused as she did more than a decade ago when campaigning against the Gillard government’s carbon and mining taxes.
That’s the problem.
Abbott appeared to be an alternative opposition leader. And he was arguably more polished and convincing than Taylor.
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original film, he can’t function with anything but laser-like focus. terminator film and risks overshadowing its less experienced and less polished successor.
Abbott told the ABC’s Sally Sara that he “doesn’t expect to be in the media every day” but that being elected president could persuade skeptical voters (i.e. those who abandoned the opposition for One Nation) that the Coalition was a fair idea to repeal Labour’s new taxes, end so-called mass immigration and more.
The election of Abbott as party chairman is the political equivalent of a Rorschach test in which the subject is asked to describe what he sees in a series of vague inkblots.
Do voters see a failed prime minister whose leadership has been punctuated by a series of culture wars and outlandish decisions like knighting Prince Phillip?
Or do they see a plain-talking patriot who will fight for Australia and who can diagnose the current government’s problems and policies with devastating effect and turn them into a series of three-word slogans that lay out the problems and offer solutions?
Abbott was the most effective opposition leader in recent Australian history. The problem was that once he was appointed prime minister, three-word slogans were not enough (he would no doubt object) and were seen as inadequate by both the party room and the Australian public.
Taylor supported Abbott for president because they were ideological soulmates and because, as Abbott acknowledged in his inaugural speech, the Liberal Party was in an existential crisis. It’s now ‘all hands on deck’ to save the party from collapse as One Nation moves into second place – and even first place – in polls.
By bringing Abbott back into service, Taylor is using every tool and ally at his disposal to revive the party’s fortunes.
The problem is that depending on how often he appears in the media, Abbott could be a major distraction for the current opposition leader and a voice that overshadows his own.
At a time when Taylor is trying to build goodwill with Australians and convince voters that the modern Liberal party is in touch with their needs, the last thing he needs is a man who does his job and regularly intervenes to share his thoughts.
It sends mixed messages at best.
At worst, it undermines Taylor and makes her look like a puppet of Abbott.
And at a time when Australians are crying out for originality, no one will vote for a puppet.
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James Massola is the chief political commentator. He was previously national affairs editor and Southeast Asia correspondent. He won the Quill and Kennedy awards and was a Walkley finalist. Connect securely to Signal @jamesmassola.01Connect with: X or email.
