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Scott Morrison won the May election with cleverness, cunning and discipline. He displayed none of those skills in Parliament this week. His government’s failures, from the police investigation into a cabinet minister to the defeat of its industrial relations bill, were a shocking setback for Liberals and Nationals who thought they were heading towards a successful end to the parliamentary year.
And the failures have been the government’s own fault. Morrison walks off the court this week after losing every point with an unforced error.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison listens as Minister for Energy Angus Taylor speaks during question time on Thursday.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Energy Minister Angus Taylor is under investigation for making a false claim to sledge City of Sydney mayor Clover Moore. Morrison himself is under attack for making a phone call to a police chief to check on the investigation. More widely, the government is bickering with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation over the sudden defeat of the Ensuring Integrity Bill to curb union power.
Morrison did not look like a miracle man this week. He fell to earth with a thud.
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“The government is still recovering from its surprise at being re-elected,” says Patrick Weller, professor emeritus in the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University. “Morrison is showing signs of being a prime minister who is still finding his way in the job.”
Nowhere is this more evident than in Morrison’s handling of the Taylor fiasco – a more significant and more lasting challenge for the ..
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