Liberal Party Review of the 2022 Federal Election - Disappointing and weak
The Federal Liberal Party Secretariat recently released its review of the May 2022 federal election where the Liberal Party (but not the National Party) lost 18 seats. Not the biggest loss in Liberal Party history – but almost (Howard’s Coalition lost more in 2007 - 22 seats in total).
Conducted by Brian Loughnane, former Federal Director of the Liberal Party and Victorian Senator Jane Hume, it is a disappointment, a weak document that skirts the big issue – “it’s policy stupid” – and therefore not answering what was the Liberal Party standing for, fighting for and delivering in its nine years in office?
While the report has some useful observations – like the decline of the primary vote for both major party blocks and membership, branch structures, the growth of independents, and who has what seats where – much of it reads like one of those formulistic reviews done by major consultancy firms – you know the type - the content is the same except for the client’s name on the front cover.
Hence, all the usual topics are there: responsibilities of executive positions, constitutions, campaigning blueprints, pre-section processes, post-election aftercare for unsuccessful candidates, and female representation. There is also the need for a ‘deep-dive’ study on the community’s values – this sounds like more policy by focus group.
Scott Prasser talks to Gary Hardgrave on Inside The News on Sky News Australia - 22 December 2022.
What is missing is the big “P” word – Policy. It hardly gets a mention. Politics repeatedly discussed but you cannot do politics unless you have something to sell and fight for - i.e. a policy!
What is lacking is that for nine years the Liberal Party was ‘Labor lite’ – taking its cue from the Labor Party, the media and the noisy “never-satisfied” interest groups.
It was handicapped from the outset by Abbott’s pre-2013 election promises that there would be no cuts to the ABC, SBS, education, health, and no changes to the GST or pensions. Lock yourself in why don’t you.
It never had a clear ideological compass, clear policy goals and a long term strategy to achieve them – what is called in public policy “rational incrementalism.”
It just reacted to issues. It was a government of appeasement, evacuating whole areas of policy to the opposition, trying to ‘buy’ votes by its spending sprees, and compromises.
The Review failed to connect the low branch membership, energy and poor candidates with the lack of the Liberals standing for anything.
Other factors included that the poor performance of some ministers, including some placed in senior roles because of their gender, and the Liberals failed to both target Albanese and to put the tag on him that best fits– a leftist ideologue.
And given that the Liberal Party is part of a thing called the Coalition with the National Party – who again did not lose any seats – it might have been useful if there was some indication in the Review that they had been consulted – or better still – why not a joint assessment?
Perhaps the problem is that this Review was written too much with an eye to being publicly released. Therefore, it is a sanitised product saying what the media might accept, satisfying the party factions, and talking in ‘political-speak’.
A proper review should have been made behind closed doors for consenting adults where frank things can be said to those in power, those responsible for the mess, and for the nine years of wasted opportunity. It seems a bad idea, as the Liberals so often displayed during the last nine years, to expose your flaws to your opponents and critics.