Josh Frydenberg’s strong words have held Labor’s leadership to account

This directness was shocking precisely because it is so rare now. This left MPs across Canberra wondering why no one else could achieve the same cut.

Labor MP Mark Dreyfus, a former attorney general, Jew and Frydenberg’s political opponent, was invited by ABC radio to address claims that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should take some responsibility for the increasing number of violent attacks on Jewish communities that culminated in Sunday’s massacre. Dreyfus handled this masterfully.

“There are a lot of people reflecting on the anger, pain and grief that is being felt right now, and that’s understandable,” he said. “Once again, this was an extraordinarily saddening event for the Australian Jewish community and for all Australians.”

He said more needed to be done to combat antisemitism, signaling several measures the federal government would announce the next day.

“Blame is not a very useful emotion,” Dreyfus said. “What we need to do now is work with each other. I’ve said all along that we can and must do more. We must do everything we can.”

Like Dreyfus, Frydenberg’s authority on this issue stems from history, not identity politics. He is Australia’s most senior Jewish cabinet minister. He is also the product of a postwar nation that successfully and safely integrated Jewish refugees, without apology or fear. Their parents’ survival and their own careers were evidence that Australia had once understood how to manage difference without compromising harmony.

Frydenberg, now free from the reins of political office, issued a warning that this legacy was being squandered. This argument will be troubling for Labor, especially for a party that is struggling to manage elements of its own base.

Frydenberg made no effort to alleviate this discomfort. Like John Howard after Port Arthur, he argued that leadership meant facing your own side first.

When he arrived in Bondi, he had planned to say just a few words to mourn those who had died, but eventually admitted he “let go”, unsure if he was done with the job. he said Nighty So far Thursday she had shielded her own young children from news of the attack because she didn’t want them “living in fear as proud Jews in Australia.”

Frydenberg did not speak this way on issues affecting the country when he was in cabinet. Power disciplines the language. Ambition can sharpen it. He told the ABC’s Sarah Ferguson that he was “deeply disturbed” by suggestions that his speech was politically motivated. But neither fact detracts from the essence of what he says.

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Australian politics has developed an unhelpful reflex: in situations where a speaker would benefit politically, his or her argument is considered dubious by default. Motivation replaces participation. This reflex is especially useful when the subject is uncomfortable.

Primaries for the next federal election in Victoria will not be held until after the state election next November. Those close to Frydenberg don’t really know whether he will try to return to parliament. Their best guess is that if the Liberals start a new life in corporate Australia and run again, their current fortunes will increase significantly.

Frydenberg told journalist Latika Bourke he was in no rush to decide.

“What the events of October 7 and what happened afterwards in Australia has highlighted for me, and I hope it has highlighted for every Australian, is that leadership, or lack thereof, really matters. It can be the difference between life and death, and that’s why politics is more than a business,” he said.

This week was not a policy plan. This was a moral indictment. Frydenberg’s accusation was that current leaders saw the warning signs and evaded them. In trying to manage the tension, they allowed something much more dangerous to metastasize.

Some say Frydenberg speaks too harshly. But history is rarely kind to leaders who mistake restraint for virtue when the foundations are under attack.

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