Malcolm Turnbull - A Failure of Leadership

Much has been written, and much more will be written about the premiership of Malcolm Turnbull; as a Federal election looms, Turnbull's legacy hangs in the balance, to be judged not only by history but also by the electorate and by the myriad of commentators who know (or claim to know) about these things. However, as I do not claim to be a political expert but merely a voter with an informed opinion, I will contain my observations here to that of a punter looking for someone to finally take the leadership baton of this great country, and say to 24 million people, "follow me".

My observations lead me to three conclusions about Malcolm Turnbull:

1. He is weak and indecisive. When given the chance to exhibit strength and leadership, Turnbull sadly showed indecisiveness and weakness. Soon after he came into the top job, he initiated a dialogue around the possibility of raising the GST to 15%; while this was always going to be a risky strategy, there appeared to be a lot going for it, namely: a) the budget needs money, it will have to come from some kind of taxation regardless of whether Labor or the Liberals are in government. Whether the electorate likes this or not (who likes more taxes?), I believe that the majority would have recognised that it was a necessary evil, and the long term revenues that it would have generated federally and for the States would have solved many fiscal issues. b) While I acknowledge the internal pressures from his own party including the undermining "Abbott factor", Turnbull chose not to be in charge. A strong, albeit unpopular decision to raise the GST would have been pragmatically correct, and would have demonstrated to the Government and to the people of Australia that he was in charge and strong enough to make necessary, if unpopular decisions; instead he backed away and gave the perception of a leader beholden to factions in his own party and without the courage of his own convictions. The 15% GST increase would have been carried at the next election with a confident and persuasive communication plan; when the idea was initially leaked and then polled 34% of respondents agreed with it without any active PR campaign to sell it. c) Subsequent events have served to only reinforce Turnbull's lack of strength; as a highly successful businessman who toppled Abbott at least in part due to his economic credentials, his attempt to get the States to raise their own taxes at the recent COAG was an ill thought out strategy that was booted out by the Premiers as quickly as it was presented. A humiliating defeat for the economic wundekind.

2. He isn't appearing to do anything. Leaders must have a bias for action: if they cannot do anything, they must at least be seen to do something. For a PM to come into power with a record rating over his opponent of +60% to -20% was the perfect scenario to make things happen. There was anticipation and a huge appetite in the electorate for Turnbull to actually implement new things, anything. The fact that he has appeared to do so little, especially given that this is an election year and he was leading Shorten by around 40% is both confusing and disappointing. While he still has a (much reduced) lead over Shorten as preferred PM, the gap between the two parties has shrunk to almost nothing from a position of total domination in only a few short months. Shorten, an ordinary performer and a man with so much Gillard and Rudd blood on his own hands together with the stench of union corruption hanging over him has had to do almost nothing to find himself on the front row of the grid for the coming election. Again, Turnbull's failure to act in matters such as taxation, gay marriage, and the undermining of Tony Abbott has shown a lack of confidence in his ability to gather his own party behind him, and sent a message that he is a "do nothing" leader. The comparison of Turnbull's lack of action to the way in which Daniel Andrews has moved since assuming the Premiers role in Victoria only highlights this perception.

3. His communication is below average. Followers want a leader to explain their message in a simple, easy digestible way. Since his ascension to the throne when the whole country was buoyed by a sense of optimism after the negativity of Abbott had been removed, Turnbull has let the golden, perhaps one off', opportunity to sell himself and his vision slip away. We have waited for the leadership, looked hopefully and expectantly for it, but it hasn't come. When he hasn't appeared to be vacillating, he has been silent. On more than one occasion, (the failure to inform Scott Morrison of the double dissolution trigger and the need to amend the budget date accordingly, and the explanation of being rolled by the State Premiers at COAG are two good examples), his his public performance has been weak, even inept. Where is the Thatcherite, "This lady's not for turning" statement?

So can Malcolm Turnbull recover his unassailable position of only a few short months ago? He can but he needs to take strong, transparent and immediate action now. By not standing up to his Liberal colleagues, he has gifted Labor a free kick. He must change the shifting perceptions of the electorate by taking action and communication better.

Everything stands and falls on leadership. Leadership is a verb, Malcolm; just do it.