Tony Abbott and the challenge of a Green-controlled Senate

It looks likely that the Greens will still hold the balance of power in the Senate after the next election. In Inside Story, Norman Abjorensen looks at the numbers and asks: how would Tony Abbott deal with them?• A GOOD twelve months out from the likely election date and the Tony Abbott–led Coalition, despite some recent slippage, is still tracking towards victory. But whether an Abbott government will rule or merely govern will hinge on the Senate results, and they defy predictability for a range of reasons. Among the many possible outcomes are a Coalition majority (though that seems unlikely), a Coalition minority with crossbench support, and a composition similar to what we have now in the Senate, with the Greens holding the balance of power. And this last possibility raises what is to me a very pertinent, but still unasked question: how would an Abbott government – and especially Abbott himself – deal with the Greens? Read the full article Photo: Flick