People rang in to swear blind that Barry(Moderate) was foisted onto Turnbull by Pyne(Moderate) to counteract the influence of Kenny(Conservative) and the other Downerites(Conservative(. Turnbull has never tolerated his office being used as a base for factional shenanigans and is not about to start.
It was pointed out to this column from on high that Barry would not have been hired without Kenny's(Conservative) approval and Barry(moderate) would not have accepted the job had he not been prepared to work with Kenny(conservative).
As for the black hand of Pyne(moderate) being behind Barry's(moderate) appointment, this too is fiction. Barry(moderate) was approached at the suggestion of one of Turnbull's advisers, Brad Burke. Pyne(moderate) was not consulted about Barry, but ironically, Turnbull did ask Pyne(moderate) about Kenny's(conservative) appointment and he approved.
Turnbull employs people on merit and thinks that having staff with disparate views should be seen as a sign the leader is not beholden to any specific ideology.
(In Brackets) is my subtitles
In the USA, Barack Obama has recently gained a lot of praise for seeming to build a "Team of Rivals" The choice of Clinton for Sec. State, and Gates for Defence Sec. and even Biden for Vice President. Either Obama really is employing a Lincoln strategy to bring the best people he can find into his cabinet, or just as likely, he is picking people he likes, and trying to demonstrate his independence by seeming to be beholden to such a strategy.
So what about Turnbull. I'd like to believe he too is, as a man who never spent much time in Liberal politics, who is clearly of great talent and individual ability. That as a leader he is strong enough to accept the burdens of office and brook dissent within his inner circle as a way to find his way to the real answers for our society.
Yet, having seen his performance for the last year, the petty attacks, the public debate carried on by his colleagues on the parties direction without his participation, makes me wonder if this is not instead the result of a man unable to control his own office, and hence the future politics and people he brings to the Australian people.
The answer to that question, will decide if Turnbull ever becomes PM. He has at best two shots. In 2010 and 2013. He can get there the second time, but he will only last past the (inevitable) first loss if he does so on his own terms, not as the product of someone else's office.
I hope he is watching what Obama is doing in the US closely. If nothing else it will help change the current media narrative of weakness into one of strength. Time to show if you have the skills Mr. Turnbull.
No comments:
Post a Comment