Billy Goats Brough and the Revival of Conservatism
July 27th 2008 22:16
They say it won’t happen overnight. But it will happen. It is generally a good maxim when it comes to talk about the virtues of patience and how good things come to those that wait. But sometimes things do happen overnight. Case in point: the Sofitel Hotel, Brisbane.
This weekend, as many of you may already know, was the conferences of both the Queensland National and Liberal Party at the Brisbane Sofitel. Even for those staunchly opposed to merger talks like State Liberal President Mal Brough the sight of the two conferences being held at the same conference over the same weekend must have seemed like being one half of a set of conjoined twins. If that wasn’t bad enough, then Gruff Brough had to deal with the worst possible outcome of his months like presidency: the merger goes through and suddenly he’s out of a job. No wonder he called it a hostile takeover, rather than a merger. Anything would seem pretty hostile on the other end of seeing all your future career plans disappear in a cheer of jubilation. None of us could help being a little annoyed that all the work put into campaigning for party president on an anti-merger mandate is reversed no more than a few weeks later. But if Gruff Brough was a team player he would see the newly formed Liberal National Party for what it is: the revival of conservative politics in Australia. Instead, he has elected not to even join the new party. Sorry Mal. To the victor go the spoils.
Any person who saw scenes from the conference after the merger was approved would be forgiven for forgetting that the Queensland Coalition has been one of the weakest in the country since the days of Sir Joh. On the back of ten years of ALP domination, the LNP crowd seemed to have a lot to cheer about. Overnight the separate Liberal and Nationals signs disappeared as if they had never been there in the first place and were replaced by the new symbol of the merged party. From the seething masses, enter the new dynamic duo: Sheriff Lawrence Springborg and his deputy Mark McArdle. The cries of “Back the Borg” (as Sheriff Springborg is now known) were deafening. Meanwhile, out slinks Gruff Brough having been trumped by former Nationals State President Bruce McIver, now the inaugural President of the LNP.
The Borg has called the merger the realisation of a movement started by Liberal PM Robert Menzies in 1944. Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen would be rolling in his grave to see what has become to the National Party. I’m sure he would have supported a merger, don’t get me wrong. As long as the new party was draped in green and gold and carried the name of ‘The National Party’. Any other concessions would be simply unacceptable. After all, this is the man who told the Liberals he didn’t need their electoral support, thanks very much, and ruled the state on his own. But the game is different now, mostly because the board itself has been irreversibly changed.
In Sir Joh’s day the entire state of Queensland was one big country town. Which is why we have to unique situation of being the only state in the country where the National Party were the dominant Coalition party. But in the last decade or so the demographics have changed. The city electorates have expanded and the population boom in urban districts has delivered the state to the ALP. Why not the Liberal Party? Because the Queensland Libs have been notoriously weak and, as the subordinate Coalition partner, would never have enough political clout to make a difference. But this merger signals a turnaround in fortune for all involved.
Federal Liberal leader Brendan Nelson thinks so too. If the LNP can make it work it provides a framework for the unification of the parties in the other states, and federally. Of course, in the other states the reverse is true of Queensland’s situation. It’s the Nats that are on the back foot, which may challenge the conservative’s receptiveness to the idea if the discussions reach that level. What can be said is that for all the talk about Labor factions and in-fighting, the Coalition has the most institutionalised divide possible in politics: two parties, joined at the hip. For a chance at survival in the future the only way forward is to close the gap once and for all and move together as one.
Just don’t ask Gruff Brough for his vote.
This weekend, as many of you may already know, was the conferences of both the Queensland National and Liberal Party at the Brisbane Sofitel. Even for those staunchly opposed to merger talks like State Liberal President Mal Brough the sight of the two conferences being held at the same conference over the same weekend must have seemed like being one half of a set of conjoined twins. If that wasn’t bad enough, then Gruff Brough had to deal with the worst possible outcome of his months like presidency: the merger goes through and suddenly he’s out of a job. No wonder he called it a hostile takeover, rather than a merger. Anything would seem pretty hostile on the other end of seeing all your future career plans disappear in a cheer of jubilation. None of us could help being a little annoyed that all the work put into campaigning for party president on an anti-merger mandate is reversed no more than a few weeks later. But if Gruff Brough was a team player he would see the newly formed Liberal National Party for what it is: the revival of conservative politics in Australia. Instead, he has elected not to even join the new party. Sorry Mal. To the victor go the spoils.
Any person who saw scenes from the conference after the merger was approved would be forgiven for forgetting that the Queensland Coalition has been one of the weakest in the country since the days of Sir Joh. On the back of ten years of ALP domination, the LNP crowd seemed to have a lot to cheer about. Overnight the separate Liberal and Nationals signs disappeared as if they had never been there in the first place and were replaced by the new symbol of the merged party. From the seething masses, enter the new dynamic duo: Sheriff Lawrence Springborg and his deputy Mark McArdle. The cries of “Back the Borg” (as Sheriff Springborg is now known) were deafening. Meanwhile, out slinks Gruff Brough having been trumped by former Nationals State President Bruce McIver, now the inaugural President of the LNP.
The Borg has called the merger the realisation of a movement started by Liberal PM Robert Menzies in 1944. Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen would be rolling in his grave to see what has become to the National Party. I’m sure he would have supported a merger, don’t get me wrong. As long as the new party was draped in green and gold and carried the name of ‘The National Party’. Any other concessions would be simply unacceptable. After all, this is the man who told the Liberals he didn’t need their electoral support, thanks very much, and ruled the state on his own. But the game is different now, mostly because the board itself has been irreversibly changed.
In Sir Joh’s day the entire state of Queensland was one big country town. Which is why we have to unique situation of being the only state in the country where the National Party were the dominant Coalition party. But in the last decade or so the demographics have changed. The city electorates have expanded and the population boom in urban districts has delivered the state to the ALP. Why not the Liberal Party? Because the Queensland Libs have been notoriously weak and, as the subordinate Coalition partner, would never have enough political clout to make a difference. But this merger signals a turnaround in fortune for all involved.
Federal Liberal leader Brendan Nelson thinks so too. If the LNP can make it work it provides a framework for the unification of the parties in the other states, and federally. Of course, in the other states the reverse is true of Queensland’s situation. It’s the Nats that are on the back foot, which may challenge the conservative’s receptiveness to the idea if the discussions reach that level. What can be said is that for all the talk about Labor factions and in-fighting, the Coalition has the most institutionalised divide possible in politics: two parties, joined at the hip. For a chance at survival in the future the only way forward is to close the gap once and for all and move together as one.
Just don’t ask Gruff Brough for his vote.
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