OH DEAR- MURDOCH IS NOT HAPPY WITH TONY The Abbott government is doomed without narrative The Australian November 22, 2014 12:00AM Print Save for later THE past fortnight should have been a personal triumph for Tony Abbott and a high-water mark for his government. The Prime Minister hosted a terrific G20 event in Brisbane, with the world’s economic powerhouses committing to boost output growth by an extra 2.1 per cent over the next four years. This historic gathering brought to our shores the globe’s supreme economic and political players, some of whom came bearing gifts. The signing of a free-trade agreement with China on Monday was a watershed moment, for both nations. Amid all the glitz and clamour, one thing is clear: Australia is seen by the major powers as a country that counts. Yet, instead of using this fresh success to spruik a winning reform agenda, or to educate the public, Mr Abbott and Joe Hockey have skulked off the stage. The nation has not witnessed such a prestigious cavalcade since the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Sydney in 2007. Its potent mix of star power, symbolism and relevance is political gold. Although foreign policy, with its attendant grandiosity and bewildering acronyms, is not a vote winner in the Australian context, the Abbott government is inexplicably missing a precious opportunity to shine. China’s President Xi Jinping, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister David Cameron addressed parliament; they brought more than bonhomie. As well, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande made state visits after the G20 extravaganza. Barack Obama stayed long enough to insult his host on climate change — against the advice of US diplomats, as Greg Sheridan reports today — and to show off his unmatched oratorical flair; the “chosen one’s” strength, however, is a gateway to his signature weakness. Deeds rarely match the US President’s words. But there is a serious point to this mastery of imagery and gesture politics. No successful modern leader can be aloof from the requirements of communications and storytelling. It’s a simple lesson that Mr Abbott has failed to grasp: talking points and three-word slogans can never suffice. “Australia is open for business” does not constitute a narrative or provide inspiration. “Team Australia” has hokey appeal, but it, too, does not work as an explanation for complex national security issues. Limply, the Prime Minister is losing the battle to define core issues and to explain to voters what he is doing and why. At stake is his political credibility, no less. Mr Abbott risks becoming a “oncer” if he allows his opponents to constantly control the agenda. Witness how the Coalition mishandled ABC funding cuts; Labor and its friends have defined it as a “broken promise”, rather than a fiscal imperative. The 24-hour news cycle is as much a trap as it is an opportunity. Mr Abbott’s approach to messaging is a shambles of conception, strategy and execution. This deficiency can no longer be masked or ignored. Too often the Abbott government maddeningly vacates the media space. Bill Shorten, broadcaster Alan Jones and populist stunt man Clive Palmer too often set the national agenda. As a former journalist, a fine writer and a cutthroat oppositionist, Mr Abbott should be aware of the power of words and images. Yet his linguistic prowess has been diminished. Other than in some formal set pieces, he has lost his authoritative voice. Of course, it is no use blaming ill-equipped, tyro advisers. The Prime Minister’s Office is too dominated by Peta Credlin, his chief of staff, including on media strategy. To be sure, a hostile, distracted, Twitter-obsessed media is a hindrance; superior language, aimed directly at voters, could overcome this. That Mr Abbott charmed his international guests in private with his knowledge and steadfastness is no consolation. As various leaders admonished Russian President Vladimir Putin for his belligerence in the Ukraine and his indifference to the outrage over the MH17 slaughter, Mr Abbott seemed to have inspired their words. But as seasoned observers have noted, the Prime Minister shrinks in public, his natural exuberance is contained, his confidence hidden from view. Is this the man who destroyed Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard? Where is the intelligent Rhodes scholar who has an easy rapport with Australians in any setting? This communications malady is endemic. The Coalition’s failing media strategy is damaging its electoral standing and making it difficult to bed down policy responses to problems it was elected to address. The economy is where this ineptitude is most marked; the selling of the Abbott government’s fiscal repair job has been a debacle. Voters are left with the impression that Mr Hockey’s May budget was a litany of broken promises, designed to inflict severe pain on low-income workers and the poor, and that the deficit crisis was not as acute as the Coalition presented it. This unmitigated disaster will retard our progress and ability to effect fiscal consolidation over the medium term. In an act of immense self-harm, the Abbott government brought on the faux fairness debate over reform measures in the May budget via its ill-judged levy on top-bracket taxpayers. A false narrative developed that pitted tax rises on high-income earners against the loss of welfare benefits by others. Never mind that one group pays most of the nation’s tax or that governments have built an edifice of unsustainable handouts for all, fashioned out of temporary boom time revenues. Mr Hockey did not prepare the ground for what, truth be told, was a modest exercise in spending restraint. In opposition, the Coalition had over-egged the crisis alarmism. In truth, the debt overhang is a medium-term issue, yet one that every credible economist argues must be addressed if the nation is to successfully manage a future economic shock and not saddle future taxpayers with interest payments. The Coalition is now heading into its midyear economic and fiscal outlook statement with the huge challenge of not only bedding down its budget, but trying to close the fiscal gap amid tumbling revenue. Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey appear tongue-tied. They have no choice but to reboot their sales job. theaustralian.au/opinion/editorials/the-abbott-government-is-doomed-without-narrative/story-e6frg71x-1227131169889
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 00:36:21 +0000
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