Is Scott Morrison’s new-found determination to push ahead with the “living with covid” strategy a sign o’ the times?
“Scotty from Marketing” cuts both ways, I guess. At worst, it means that Morrison can too often, on domestic issues especially, seem weak. Too ready to bend to the whims of the press gallery and noisy pressure groups. On the other hand it also means that Morrison has an uncanny knack for reading the room, in a way that many supposed political stars do not.
Morrison triumphed over green-left darlings both in his own party and in the Opposition: Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten. Despite media hyperventilation over climate change, Morrison won over swaths of traditional Labor voters in the mining states.
Now Morrison is pushing back against Covid fear-mongering and authoritarianism. And the Opposition are scurrying to catch up.
Anthony Albanese has been forced into a major policy and political strategic shift after misreading the national mood on Covid-19 lockdowns and not appreciating the impact of the pace of vaccinations.
The Opposition Leader has specifically and publicly endorsed the national plan of Scott Morrison and the state and territory leaders which recommends easing restrictions and lockdowns when vaccination rates reach 70 and 80 per cent.
This is an embarrassing backdown for Albanese, who has been using the pandemic to hammer Morrison for months. So far, it’s worked — but now, suddenly, Albo is on the back foot.
It is not what Albanese wanted to do and his hand has been forced by his political nemeses – the Prime Minister, Bill Shorten and Joel Fitzgibbon.
At dinner time on Tuesday, the official strategy from Albanese was not to commit to the Doherty Institute recommendations that accepted zero Covid-19 cases in the community was no longer possible and to delay any commitment on the vaccination levels for as long as possible, siding with the Labor Premiers advocating lockdowns, blaming Morrison for the lockdowns and hoping for another missed timetable on vaccinations.
By ABC breakfast Wednesday that had all changed as Albanese declared: “I support the national plan. It has proposals at 70 per cent and 80 per cent. It is, as it is written, there is scope there for lockdowns, but targeted if they’re absolutely necessary.”
Morrison is turning the Covid dictators’ own weapons against them. So far, state premiers have capitalised massively on the pandemic panic. But, with weariness with endless lockdowns finally erupting into public anger — growing demonstrations in three capital cities, and shocking police violence in Melbourne — the premiers’ (and the Opposition leader’s) most potent weapons are turning into two-edged swords.
Albanese has been forced to answer Morrison’s deadly rhetorical question: if lockdowns aren’t restricted at 70 or 80 per cent, then when? It is a question that has cut through politically and demonstrated the change in the national mood towards wearisome lockdowns, vaccine hesitancy and the reality of the Delta variant.
Suddenly, it’s Morrison who’s looking the leader, and Albanese is left yapping in his wake.
What’s worse for Albanese is that it appears he is following his senior Labor colleagues – former leader Shorten and right wing leader Fitzgibbon – who spoke out publicly on Tuesday in The Australian and on 2GB. Both have been advocating positive reactions and selling hope.
But the confusion and uncertainty after Albanese’s address to Labor MPs and the vague press conference of Labor’s Health spokesman, Mark Butler, couldn’t be sustained and even frontbencher Stephen Jones conceded on the ABC on Tuesday evening “of course” he accepted the recommendations[…]
Albanese has dumped an untenable position and has done as soon as he saw the dangers but he made a wrong call and once again handed Morrison a ladder to get out of a hole.
The Australian
The next federal election is due late next year. The next Victorian election is scheduled for the end of November next year. It will be interesting to see if Morrison holds out as late as possible, perhaps waiting to see whether Victorians really “StandWithDan” any more.
Morrison has been on the ropes for months over Covid — but then, the same was true after the 2020 bushfires. Morrison has shown an uncanny ability to bounce back from adversity. The fact that he is now clearly setting the agenda over Covid shows that it’s far too early to write off the daggy dad from The Shire.
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