What the Liberals shouldn't do

The Liberal Party must not allow itself to become a haven for extremists, writes BRIAN COSTAR AS THE Liberal Party begins the painful but essential task of reconstruction after Saturday’s electoral catastrophe, it could do worse than heed the words of the late Victorian Liberal Party minister Walter Jona. In his book People, Parliament and Politics Jona lamented those on his side of politics who called themselves “conservatives”. He then asked: “Why can’t all Liberals simply say ‘we in the great Australian Liberal Party’ and be thoroughly proud of saying it that way?” Why indeed? While it is not unusual for a political party long in opposition to drift towards its ideological extreme - the Labor Party did it with disastrous consequences in the 1950s and 1960s - it is strange that over the past decade the Liberal Party has done so while in government. A party like the Liberals can, and must, accommodate people who hold both progressive and conservative views. Indeed, it has shown in the past that it can benefit from the input of those who are economically conservative and socially progressive. What it must not do is present as a haven for extremists. When a faction within the NSW division is referred to by its opponents, only half-jokingly, as “the Taliban” a serious situation exists. Also, while mainstream political parties should be respectful and welcoming of people of faith, as well as non-believers, they run grave risks if they allow religious fanatics to use the party to prosecute extremist agendas. The Australian Liberal Party is not the south-western Pacific branch of the United States’ Republican Party and any member who thinks it is should be courteously invited to take up permanent residence in Texas. As the self-appointed and honorary adviser to the Liberal Party (why not? everyone else is), may I suggest what not to do? Do not repeat the farce of the 1980s revolving door of leaders. Accept that the party probably won’t win the 2010 election, or the double-dissolution election that may occur in 2008, and choose - and stick with - a leader for the long term. There is no quick fix and messiahs are hard to come by these days. Do not continue to fight “culture wars”. Leave the contest to the intellectual class, it keeps them busy and the rest of us amused. Do not go on about how the ALP is controlled by unions, because it isn’t. You know it and so does the electorate. That’s why the “70% union-dominated Labor government” mantra did you no good last Saturday. Do not commission a retired federal or state party director to conduct a review of the 2007 election campaign and produce the usual anodyne report, which looks invariably like a photocopy of the last one. Or if it does make tough recommendations, these are rarely implemented or worse, are used as weapons by factional warriors to settle scores. Do not turn a blind eye to the condition of the state divisions because, unlike when in government, you’re going to need them. Accept that almost all of them are seriously dysfunctional and that political and personal relationships within them are toxic. Firm action will be required here by the federal organisation and, given the historical independence granted to the state branches, it will be painful and will involve political risk. But if the problem is ignored it will grow. Do not listen to those who urge a merger with the Nationals: it will prove a divisive diversion. Research in the early 1990s showed that the effort is not worth the candle because rather than winning votes, a blended party would lose them. Remember, however, what Robert Menzies said about the importance of maintaining good relations with the Nationals. You don’t have to always love them but you do have to work with them. A serious discussion about the nature of the Coalition can only be productive, especially if it stops hostile three-cornered contests that cost you seats last Saturday. Don’t become too obsessed with policy development. It’s too early in the electoral cycle and there are more important things to do. And don’t be depressed by doomsayers who will tell you the party’s “rooned”. They said that in 1983 and 1993 and will be proved wrong again. Big parties with fifty-year histories don’t disappear overnight. • Brian Costar is professor of Victorian state parliamentary democracy at Swinburne University of Technology. This article first appeared in the Age. Photo: Andrew Jeffre