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| Burst your bubble Australia: conservatives struggle with disunity | Burst your bubble Australia: conservatives struggle with disunity |
| (14 days later) | |
| Since just after the 2016 US election, I have been writing a column for the Guardian’s US edition which lets readers in on what conservatives in the media are saying and thinking. | Since just after the 2016 US election, I have been writing a column for the Guardian’s US edition which lets readers in on what conservatives in the media are saying and thinking. |
| A lot of this has turned out to involve charting the further decomposition of the right into warring factions, with nationalist populism à la Trump in the ascendancy. | A lot of this has turned out to involve charting the further decomposition of the right into warring factions, with nationalist populism à la Trump in the ascendancy. |
| This disarray is not necessarily good news for progressives. As scholars such as George Hawley have pointed out, though they may have been acting out of self-interest, there was a time when “movement conservatives” like William F Buckley were able to act as gatekeepers. When they chose to, they could relegate open white nationalists, antisemites and the worst conspiracy theorists to the margins. Conservative politicians tried to square the circle with dog-whistling such constituencies. | This disarray is not necessarily good news for progressives. As scholars such as George Hawley have pointed out, though they may have been acting out of self-interest, there was a time when “movement conservatives” like William F Buckley were able to act as gatekeepers. When they chose to, they could relegate open white nationalists, antisemites and the worst conspiracy theorists to the margins. Conservative politicians tried to square the circle with dog-whistling such constituencies. |
| Now rightwing populists no longer whistle, but bellow, and no one in the cohort that likes to think of itself as centre-right has either the prestige or the heft to keep them at bay. The inheritors of John Birch Society paranoia and silver-shirted US fascism have a new prominence and growing influence. | Now rightwing populists no longer whistle, but bellow, and no one in the cohort that likes to think of itself as centre-right has either the prestige or the heft to keep them at bay. The inheritors of John Birch Society paranoia and silver-shirted US fascism have a new prominence and growing influence. |
| Australia’s political culture is different, and so are its conservatives. But it’s hard to say that mainstream conservatism is in any better shape, and that rot goes far beyond the often-shambolic Turnbull government. In parliament, in the media, and in the community, the right is fragmenting. Accordingly, in recent months we have seen ostensibly mainstream figures join hands with extremist media enterprises, and make spaces for far-right causes. | Australia’s political culture is different, and so are its conservatives. But it’s hard to say that mainstream conservatism is in any better shape, and that rot goes far beyond the often-shambolic Turnbull government. In parliament, in the media, and in the community, the right is fragmenting. Accordingly, in recent months we have seen ostensibly mainstream figures join hands with extremist media enterprises, and make spaces for far-right causes. |
| This Australian edition of “Burst your bubble” shows conservative voices in the media struggling to deal with, or take part in, the latest outbreak of rightwing disunity. There have been public tensions between Turnbull supporters and the so-called “Delcons” since Abbott got the chop, and enough vocal critics of the Liberals’ supposed leftward drift for Cory Bernardi to chance his arm with a new party. | This Australian edition of “Burst your bubble” shows conservative voices in the media struggling to deal with, or take part in, the latest outbreak of rightwing disunity. There have been public tensions between Turnbull supporters and the so-called “Delcons” since Abbott got the chop, and enough vocal critics of the Liberals’ supposed leftward drift for Cory Bernardi to chance his arm with a new party. |
| This week chat has centred on the recent Liberal party conference, and a Newspoll revealing that even the hapless PM is more popular than his antagonist, Abbott. Some commentators fall back on the well-worn tactic of simply denying empirical reality. Others scapegoat a “leftist” Liberal establishment. None offer any way out. | This week chat has centred on the recent Liberal party conference, and a Newspoll revealing that even the hapless PM is more popular than his antagonist, Abbott. Some commentators fall back on the well-worn tactic of simply denying empirical reality. Others scapegoat a “leftist” Liberal establishment. None offer any way out. |
| Turnbull triumphs, but pressures remain | Turnbull triumphs, but pressures remain |
| Publication The Australian | Publication The Australian |
| Author Dennis Shanahan used to be the most reliably pro-Coalition commentator at the Australian. If he’s not any more, it’s only because the competition these days is so fierce. | Author Dennis Shanahan used to be the most reliably pro-Coalition commentator at the Australian. If he’s not any more, it’s only because the competition these days is so fierce. |
| Why you should read it Shanahan hails the passage of Gonski 2.0 education funding as a rare political victory for the prime minister. But he puts this in the context of broader signs of division and decline not only in the government but in the Liberal party as a whole. | Why you should read it Shanahan hails the passage of Gonski 2.0 education funding as a rare political victory for the prime minister. But he puts this in the context of broader signs of division and decline not only in the government but in the Liberal party as a whole. |
| Extract “Political inexperience, a tardiness in addressing common concerns, a cavalier attitude towards the Coalition’s traditional support base, an inability to cut through politically, a continued failure in the opinion polls, Liberal party divisions on several fronts and Turnbull’s growing frustration have all combined to darken the mood of MPs.” | Extract “Political inexperience, a tardiness in addressing common concerns, a cavalier attitude towards the Coalition’s traditional support base, an inability to cut through politically, a continued failure in the opinion polls, Liberal party divisions on several fronts and Turnbull’s growing frustration have all combined to darken the mood of MPs.” |
| Who the hell were they polling? | Who the hell were they polling? |
| Publication The Spectator Australia | Publication The Spectator Australia |
| Author Catherine Priestley is one of the Spectator’s younger writers – previous posts indicate that she is still at university. But she has a firm grasp on the strategy for dealing with unwelcome news that permeates her publication – denial. | Author Catherine Priestley is one of the Spectator’s younger writers – previous posts indicate that she is still at university. But she has a firm grasp on the strategy for dealing with unwelcome news that permeates her publication – denial. |
| Why you should read it Like most hard-right true believers, Priestley cannot accept that the public at large does not share her admiration for Abbott. She dismisses a Newspoll suggesting that Australia can’t stand him because it “doesn’t stack up with the anecdotal evidence”, adding that “when it comes to polling data versus instincts, we should choose the latter every time”. Doubtless she will persist in this view of statistical evidence until we are all engulfed by the sea. | Why you should read it Like most hard-right true believers, Priestley cannot accept that the public at large does not share her admiration for Abbott. She dismisses a Newspoll suggesting that Australia can’t stand him because it “doesn’t stack up with the anecdotal evidence”, adding that “when it comes to polling data versus instincts, we should choose the latter every time”. Doubtless she will persist in this view of statistical evidence until we are all engulfed by the sea. |
| Extract “Whenever Abbott speaks at a gathering of the faithful, he receives a standing ovation when he gets up, and a standing ovation when he sits down. His ability to invigorate and mobilise the base was on display at the weekend, when hundreds of members turned out to vote for reforms he’d championed. It seems he’s more respected since losing the prime ministership; after all, who among us can’t identify with failure?” | Extract “Whenever Abbott speaks at a gathering of the faithful, he receives a standing ovation when he gets up, and a standing ovation when he sits down. His ability to invigorate and mobilise the base was on display at the weekend, when hundreds of members turned out to vote for reforms he’d championed. It seems he’s more respected since losing the prime ministership; after all, who among us can’t identify with failure?” |
| This is Anthony Albanese’s victory dance | This is Anthony Albanese’s victory dance |
| Publication The Daily Telegraph | Publication The Daily Telegraph |
| Author Mark Latham, Australia’s hottest media export, still keeps faith with his countrymen by means of a column in the Daily Telegraph. | Author Mark Latham, Australia’s hottest media export, still keeps faith with his countrymen by means of a column in the Daily Telegraph. |
| Why you should read it You probably have to share at least some of Latham’s astonishing repertoire of resentments to make sense of this. On the basis of some politicking from Anthony Albanese, he declares that the PM and “inner-city Liberal elites” have completely capitulated to socialism and that we are now a “one-party state”. Of course, there are people who are as incensed as Latham is by an imaginary process of leftward drift. It remains to be seen whether they constitute a sustainable audience for his new media partners. | Why you should read it You probably have to share at least some of Latham’s astonishing repertoire of resentments to make sense of this. On the basis of some politicking from Anthony Albanese, he declares that the PM and “inner-city Liberal elites” have completely capitulated to socialism and that we are now a “one-party state”. Of course, there are people who are as incensed as Latham is by an imaginary process of leftward drift. It remains to be seen whether they constitute a sustainable audience for his new media partners. |
| Extract “In public life today, any outfit that’s dominated by inner-city personnel is bound to fit the leftist mould. | Extract “In public life today, any outfit that’s dominated by inner-city personnel is bound to fit the leftist mould. |
| “It’s the nation’s dominant cultural fad, guaranteeing future university and ABC employment, placement in corporate diversity units and a swath of fashionable dinner party invitations. | “It’s the nation’s dominant cultural fad, guaranteeing future university and ABC employment, placement in corporate diversity units and a swath of fashionable dinner party invitations. |
| “The Liberal party is no exception.” | “The Liberal party is no exception.” |
| Why should conservatives support Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberals? | Why should conservatives support Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberals? |
| Publication Institute of Public Affairs (reprinted from Australian Financial Review) | Publication Institute of Public Affairs (reprinted from Australian Financial Review) |
| Author John Roskam heads up the IPA. Like his organisation, Roskam is officially committed to principled right-libertarian positions. In practice, his AFR columns voice the priorities of his audience: big business. | Author John Roskam heads up the IPA. Like his organisation, Roskam is officially committed to principled right-libertarian positions. In practice, his AFR columns voice the priorities of his audience: big business. |
| Why you should read it Recently Roskam has been helpfully detailing all of the constituencies that Malcolm Turnbull is losing (in his new column he indicated that big business are walking away). This one from earlier in the month offers the most detail on why he thinks business conservatives are iffy about Turnbull. | Why you should read it Recently Roskam has been helpfully detailing all of the constituencies that Malcolm Turnbull is losing (in his new column he indicated that big business are walking away). This one from earlier in the month offers the most detail on why he thinks business conservatives are iffy about Turnbull. |
| Extract “When Tony Abbott talks of the Liberals being at risk of slipping their philosophical moorings he’s reflecting the views of not only “rusted on conservatives” but also how economic liberals see the Liberals’ policies such as the bank tax as fundamentally wrong and as preparing the ground for even worse measures from Labor. Which is exactly what happened when the Labor administration in South Australia introduced its own version of what Morrison did. | Extract “When Tony Abbott talks of the Liberals being at risk of slipping their philosophical moorings he’s reflecting the views of not only “rusted on conservatives” but also how economic liberals see the Liberals’ policies such as the bank tax as fundamentally wrong and as preparing the ground for even worse measures from Labor. Which is exactly what happened when the Labor administration in South Australia introduced its own version of what Morrison did. |
| “The fact that it was under Abbott himself that the Liberals’ philosophical slippage started is absolutely true. But that doesn’t negate the merits of the arguments Abbott is making. And in any case, Turnbull promised to be better than Abbott. Turnbull promised to lead a ‘thoroughly Liberal government’.” | “The fact that it was under Abbott himself that the Liberals’ philosophical slippage started is absolutely true. But that doesn’t negate the merits of the arguments Abbott is making. And in any case, Turnbull promised to be better than Abbott. Turnbull promised to lead a ‘thoroughly Liberal government’.” |
| Peta Credlin says NSW Liberals, unhappy with the current ‘direction & leadership’, have ‘roared’ for reform | Peta Credlin says NSW Liberals, unhappy with the current ‘direction & leadership’, have ‘roared’ for reform |
| Publication The Bolt Report (Facebook page) | Publication The Bolt Report (Facebook page) |
| Author Prolific media reactionary Andrew Bolt interviews former Abbott aide Peta Credlin about the only success Tony Abbott has had in a while. | Author Prolific media reactionary Andrew Bolt interviews former Abbott aide Peta Credlin about the only success Tony Abbott has had in a while. |
| Why you should watch it Bolt’s chat with Credlin underlines the fact that the so-called “Warringah Motion” at the NSW party’s convention is a victory for the party’s right. The motion, which allows but does not bind the party to member plebiscites for preselections, shifts power to grassroots Liberals, who are further to the right than the party machine, or anyone outside One Nation. Abbott demonstrated that he can’t maintain the affections of Australians in general, but rusted-on conservatives can’t get enough. | Why you should watch it Bolt’s chat with Credlin underlines the fact that the so-called “Warringah Motion” at the NSW party’s convention is a victory for the party’s right. The motion, which allows but does not bind the party to member plebiscites for preselections, shifts power to grassroots Liberals, who are further to the right than the party machine, or anyone outside One Nation. Abbott demonstrated that he can’t maintain the affections of Australians in general, but rusted-on conservatives can’t get enough. |
| Extract It’s a short video – watch as much as you can bear. | Extract It’s a short video – watch as much as you can bear. |