Turnbull for PM

[Smurf1976]

You guys are funny you do want the LNP to win the next election - Right?

Something I've noticed recently is that the Coalition seems to have re-branded itself as the "LNP".

Can't say I'd ever heard that term until quite recently, it was always "the Coalition" or the Liberal Party / National Party. But all of a sudden the "LNP" term seems to have been universally adopted practically everywhere.

I take it that someone decided that "Liberal" and "the Coalition" are somewhat unpopular at the moment so is trying a re-branding?

 

[drsmith]

You will have to forgive me for my lack of attention as im on holiday OS and not spending much time here.

I can see how a Bishop-Turnbull ticket would be somewhat more palatable to the red neck right, however its still clearly not the most electable option, the smartest guy in the room is Malcolm.

It seems now there's no such thing as a holiday when it comes to politics.

The expectation on the shoulders of a MT led government from the centre-left is that it will be able to implement a essential a Labor agenda without raising taxes and at the same time bring the budget to surplus. This is the political landscape into which MT will enter and manage should he becomes PM. This will not only require his intellect as a businessman and his fluent oratory but also his political intellect which was sadly lacking during his time as opposition leader. There's also the question about his political leadership and Nikki Sava had a bit to say about that from his time as opposition leader on Insiders this morning.

Malcolm though has had time to reflect and also take a leadership role in redrafting the NBN. TA clearly hasn't grown in leadership so in that sense Malcolm offers a greater hope than TA should he become PM. The additional step on the ladder as treasurer would in my view be a worthwhile step for Malcolm between where he is now and party leader to ensure his smarts are sufficiently broad but politics doesn't always afford that luxury.

 

[Julia]

I can see how a Bishop-Turnbull ticket would be somewhat more palatable to the red neck right, however its still clearly not the most electable option, the smartest guy in the room is Malcolm.

Smart? Hardly. He made a complete hash of his previous attempt to lead the party. Have you forgotten the mess of the Godwin Grech affair? Went off half cocked demanding the PM's resignation and ended up looking a complete fool.

Then he ignored the wishes of the majority of his party and went to bed with Labor over an ETS. That was what finally saw him beaten by TA.

How is he going to go when attacked by Labor on the justifiable basis that in the past he has championed either a carbon tax or an ETS, yet now cannot support that position because the party wouldn't have a bar of it?

And how are the internal politics of the Coalition going to go when he wants gay marriage and the conservative Right regard that as their worst nightmare?
There is considerable irony in the fact that the two people bringing the spill motion are hard Right conservatives.
They seemed to assume the result would not include Mr Turnbull.

As drsmith has pointed out today, his political instinct seems to have improved little as he made public his desire for as much time as possible to shore up support before committing to challenging. Even the fact that TA responded by moving the meeting forward to Monday will further exacerbate the tension and adverse effects of whatever the outcome is. MT should have just shut up until after the result of the secret ballot.

It seems to me that many people are taking Mr Turnbull's urbane and articulate demeanour, his somewhat regal presence and well modulated voice, as being representative of political astuteness and capacity to fix all that is so deeply wrong with his party.

However, just as the electorate largely declines to accept the reality of the need to pull in the fiscal horns, they might well equally be prepared to be deluded by charm.

 

[banco]

Why was it a bad choice for MT to highlight Abbott's decision to move the meeting? He's quietly highlighting Abbott's erratic "captain's picks".

 

[So_Cynical]

Smart? Hardly. He made a complete hash of his previous attempt to lead the party. Have you forgotten the mess of the Godwin Grech affair? Went off half cocked demanding the PM's resignation and ended up looking a complete fool.

Then he ignored the wishes of the majority of his party and went to bed with Labor over an ETS. That was what finally saw him beaten by TA.

Beaten by 1 vote.

My take is that TA was/is the better opposition leader and has clearly struggled with being PM and has failed to transition, while MT struggled with the opposition leadership he is much better suited to the top job, a job that in modern times has required intelligence, imagination and a willingness to deal.

 

[SirRumpole]

Beaten by 1 vote.

My take is that TA was/is the better opposition leader and has clearly struggled with being PM and has failed to transition, while MT struggled with the opposition leadership he is much better suited to the top job, a job that in modern times has required intelligence, imagination and a willingness to deal.

+1 here.

While I think that Malcolm has an enormous ego he has proved himself in the law and business and in politics as someone capable of bringing back the middle ground (leaving aside the Tea Party rednecks who are a splinter group but happen to control a lot of donations to the Liberal and National parties.)

Turnbull definitely bungled over the Godwin Gretch affair. Some may say he has done his time for that. John Howard had Minister after Minister resign or be suspended for something or other and then return after a period in the sin bin.

Compared to Turnbull's experience in the real world, what has Abbott got to offer ? He is a career politician with very little experience talking to real people. That's why I think he bungles so much. He is in a world of his own, a born to rule mentality with little communication ability.

Turnbull had the guts to recognise the reality of AGW and tried to do something about it. This annoyed people who make money from burning coal and polluting the atmosphere. How will he handle the situation second time around ?

I think he is smart enough to do things differently in the Climate Change area. Get the country onside to the point where the vested interests are marginalsed. As others have been saying, Tony Abbott is a goner, he's not up to the job and is an embarrassment. So why should the Libs wait any longer ?

 

[Smurf1976]

Erratic thinking, captain's picks, unable to negotiate with others, a "born to rule" mentality, seeking absolute control over practically everything (closely related to the "captain's picks"), clinging to what worked in the past.

I worked for a boss just like that once (not with my current employer for the record). He was exactly like that.

Took me and the rest of the staff quite a while to work it out amidst all the chaos. Eventually started reading about psychology and stumbled across something called "narcissism". Then it all made sense, oh yes it made sense in a big way. That was a real "light bulb moment".

Watching the whole Abbott thing unfold reminds me of that experience all too well. It has followed the same overall course of events, albeit a bit more rapidly, and with much the same consequences. The Coalition, and Australia for that matter, is in an outright mess following this. Just what happened in that workplace - profit turned to loss, staff left, everything was in a mess.

My mind is open to whether Turnbull, Bishop or anyone else should be PM. But Tony's just got to go in my view and the sooner the better. His outlook and thinking just isn't suitable for PM, or even running a business for that matter. He's a salesman - good at closing the deal but of no use beyond that point when actual delivery is required.

 

[Smurf1976]

I think he is smart enough to do things differently in the Climate Change area. Get the country onside to the point where the vested interests are marginalsed.

I don't trust him to keep the vested interests out there.

Suppose that we introduce an ETS. OK so far. But given Turnbull's background, can we trust him to keep the vested interests out of it? The last thing we need is a situation where we have an artificially created commodity and financial institutions making a killing through manipulating the price.

 

[drsmith]

The last thing we need is a situation where we have an artificially created commodity and financial institutions making a killing through manipulating the price.

If we were part of a broader market based ETS, what difference would the PM of Australia make in relation to the trading price of carbon ?

 

[drsmith]

Smart? Hardly. He made a complete hash of his previous attempt to lead the party. Have you forgotten the mess of the Godwin Grech affair? Went off half cocked demanding the PM's resignation and ended up looking a complete fool.

Then he ignored the wishes of the majority of his party and went to bed with Labor over an ETS. That was what finally saw him beaten by TA.

How is he going to go when attacked by Labor on the justifiable basis that in the past he has championed either a carbon tax or an ETS, yet now cannot support that position because the party wouldn't have a bar of it?

And how are the internal politics of the Coalition going to go when he wants gay marriage and the conservative Right regard that as their worst nightmare?
There is considerable irony in the fact that the two people bringing the spill motion are hard Right conservatives.
They seemed to assume the result would not include Mr Turnbull.

This is why I prefer Julie Bishop. Adding to that, she's been more measured in her commentary than Malcolm today.

Malcolm Turnbull as leader demonstrated his ability to divide the party, not unite it. If he was treasurer under Julie Bishop, that would take advantage of his natural talents and area of expertise. This is what I would regard as the best team arrangement going forward.

 

[Julia]

This is why I prefer Julie Bishop. Adding to that, she's been more measured in her commentary than Malcolm today.

Malcolm Turnbull as leader demonstrated his ability to divide the party, not unite it. If he was treasurer under Julie Bishop, that would take advantage of his natural talents and area of expertise. This is what I would regard as the best team arrangement going forward.

+1.
Mr Turnbull has shown no capacity to unite his party. If they cannot unit after this fiasco they will be dead in the water for a very long time.

 

[drsmith]

One other advantage that Julie Bishop offers in a political sense is that she's a woman.

That in itself will give Labor something to think about.

 

[banco]

One other advantage that Julie Bishop offers in a political sense is that she's a woman.

That in itself will give Labor something to think about.

A barren, prada wearing, former asbestos company representing lawyer woman. I'm sure the inevitable interviews with people dying of asbestos related diseases from James Hardies WA operations will really humanise her.

 

[SirRumpole]

One other advantage that Julie Bishop offers in a political sense is that she's a woman.

That in itself will give Labor something to think about.

It certainly will. Considering her current relationship with a property developer, her being PM will give Labor a chance to ask awkward questions about whether she did any deals with property developers in her days as a young and naive upcoming lawyer.

I can just see Shorten sharpening up for a revenge attack for the Bishop cross examination of Gillard in Question Time.

Oh the irony !

 

[drsmith]

A barren, prada wearing, former asbestos company representing lawyer woman. I'm sure the inevitable interviews with people dying of asbestos related diseases from James Hardies WA operations will really humanise her.

I rest my case.

 

[IFocus]

Interesting how most here forget Abbott gave Turnbul the poison chalice and orders to destroy the NBN................remember that beauty?

Turnbul actually moved the coalition to accepting a more sensible position of having some NBN and no doubt down the road we will eventually see a closer complete NBN under various governments all be it X 10 the cost it could have taken.

But regardless the front bench are out and out losers and 2nd rate retards from Howards reign, I am sure Shorten is backing Abbott and Peta to stay then all he has to do is just turn up and win an election.

 

[Tisme]

My spies tell me it's game on ......... I still don't think he has the ticker though.

Oh anyone know someone who wants to be a a) Treasurer or b)Head of PM dept?

 

[dutchie]

My spies tell me it's game on ......... I still don't think he has the ticker though.

Oh anyone know someone who wants to be a a) Treasurer or b)Head of PM dept?

My spies tell me that the " game on " theme is driven solely by the media.

Sensationalism sells.

 

[Tisme]

My spies tell me that the " game on " theme is driven solely by the media.

Sensationalism sells.

I'm sure the media have a role, but ultimately it's the players who decide what happens. Putting Rupert offside is not a good idea though.

 

[banco]

My spies tell me that the " game on " theme is driven solely by the media.

Sensationalism sells.

Yeah the media is responsible for Tony's dire poll numbers and his inept "captain's picks" :shake: