High time for Abbott Government to do or die (interesting analysis of Australia's government)

news.com.au ^ | 19th November 2014 | Andrew Bolt

[naturalman1975]

THE Abbott Government must change or die. Newspoll now shows it trailing Labor by a disastrous 45 per cent to 55.

Other polls are tighter, but all agree — the Government has been behind for months. And it’s excuses are running thin.

The Government argues the polls flatter Labor. Come the election, voters will reject an Opposition that won’t turn back boats, cut spending or axe its planned carbon tax.

True, but Labor could change.

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Governments don’t win elections with foreign policies, yet this one has talked of little else for months.

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Tony Abbott, unlike most leaders, has no senior media strategist to plot strategy, check policies and cultivate relationships with journalists.

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This is deadly given the ferocious hatred of Abbott in the media Left, especially the massive ABC.

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Abbott is a Christian who believes virtue is rewarded, and enemies should be embraced.

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The Government lacks mongrel and is getting belted in bare-knuckle politics.

Example: US President Barack Obama in his speech in Brisbane loutishly attacked Abbott over global warming.

Abbott just took it when he could instead have chided this showpony. The Left would still have backed Obama, but conservatives would have cheered Abbott’s firmness.

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The Left will always loathe a Catholic conservative like Abbott. If he wants friends, he’d best start with exciting fellow conservatives.

Instead, he’s given up the fights for free speech and workplace reform, and dares not openly challenge the warming hysteria.

This Government cannot go on like this, and must fix things over Christmas.

Get sharp. Offer inspiration. Ditch failures. And fight.

[naturalman1975]

Bolt (who is one of Australia's foremost conservative commentators) elaborated on this article on his blog

I like Tony Abbott. Indeed, in many ways I admire him. He is warm, kind, selfless, thoughtful, modest and introspective. I also think his Government means well and has done many good things.

That I criticise him and his Government’s performance in no way reflects some disenchantment or dislike of Abbott.

It comes more from a frustration that the Government isn’t doing as well in the polls as it deserves and that it cannot do as much good as it intends.

And there is this: I am often asked by people who don’t like the Abbott they see on TV what he’s really like, and always I respond that if they knew the real man as I do they would change their minds.

The very opposite was true of Kevin Rudd.

Niki Savva suggests many other Abbott supporters feel the same:

Those who know Abbott have trouble reconciling the public with the private persona. Some leaders come alive in front of cameras. Abbott shrinks. He looks awkward, his speech is stilted and he slips too easily into slogans or inappropriate rhetoric.

His narrow opening remarks to the G20 leaders retreat were embarrassing. Inside the privacy of the meetings, participants were taken by his warmth and sure handling of proceedings.

Matching this reality with the image is a key job of the Abbott team.

[Cicero]

I’m sorry if this is true. Tony Abbott has been a great PM, on the heels of a lousy one. If they bring Labour back in, they’ll just go back to wrecking their country.

[naturalman1975]

We’ve got nearly two years so it’s not critical yet.

But I think Tony Abbott has to make a decision - if he’s going to be unpopular, he may as well use it to go all out for real change.

Or if he wants to get a second term, he needs to work on his image.