The lesson to be learned from the rise of the teals and other fracturing of the centre-right vote in Australia is that the Liberal party needs to have a clearly defined purpose if it wants to succeed.
This disintegration is not entirely without precedent. By the time the United Australia Party officially dissolved in 1945 the party had long been rudderless, its raison detre of getting the nation through the Depression with thrift and sacrifice having exhausted itself.
It was Robert Menzies who famously resurrected the fortunes of the Australian centre-right, but he did not do it by establishing a broad church. While it was certainly meant to have a broad appeal ranging from salary earners, shopkeepers, skilled artisans, professional men and women, farmers and so on, Menzies explicitly founded what he called a party with a philosophy.
Recently in the Guardian Van Badham argued that history shows that the Australian centre-right succeeds most when it appeals to the centre. However, the formation of the Liberal party represented no leftward shift from its predecessor, which after all had been formed around an ex-Labor premier of Tasmania.
The Liberal party represented a revival of Australias strongest political tradition, namely liberalism, and with it came a clear sense of direction. Menzies was tapping into something with deep roots in Australian history, so much so that by the end of the nineteenth century virtually every Australian politician called themselves liberal.
In the Australian context liberalism has conservative elements, which can often lead to confusion in definitions. By the time of federation liberals had triumphed such that defending that which existed was to conserve a liberal order. Australian liberals have always believed that freedom flourishes under our existing institutions, including parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.
Australian liberalism thus contains many of the tenets of the philosophy of Edmund Burke, whom Menzies admired. During the 1940s when Menzies was giving his series of radio broadcasts made famous by the forgotten people, he quoted from Burke that a political party is a body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavours the national interest, upon some particular principle in which they are all agreed.
The concept of the broad church when it comes to the Liberal party of Australia is a legacy of John Howard, who was trying to put to bed ideological infighting which had dogged the party throughout the 1980s. But the fact that the Liberal party was led out of the wilderness by Howard rather than a Peacock says a lot.
The Australian centre-right has tended to succeed when it has a clearly defined purpose, whether that be upholding patriotism during and after the first world war, maintaining fiscal conservatism in response to our gravest economic crisis, or defending the role of free enterprise threatened by Chifleys bank nationalisation and the rise of international communism.
The Australian centre-right has failed when it becomes purposeless, like the end of the UAP or even during the 1980s, when Labor had taken up the crucial job of Reagan/Thatcher style economic reform.
Leaders who define themselves by their moderation have failed because they go out of their way to make the party pointless. Look at not just Peacocks failure, but the unexpected near defeats of 1969 and 2016. It must be remembered that Malcolm Fraser, who was electorally successful, only drifted to the left after office.
Australias unusual system of compulsory voting and compulsory preferencing does drag politics towards the centre. Australia has a long tradition of sacred cows that cannot be touched because of this, namely the Australian settlement which endured for decades, and an industrial relations system that cost Stanley Melbourne Bruce and John Howard not just their prime ministerships but their seats. One could argue that border protection has become a new settled issue in this vein.
But just because our voting system nudges politics towards the centre does not mean that centre-right parties are rewarded for leaning into this and losing their sense of direction. People need to be motivated to campaign when they dont have a union cajoling them to do so, and right-leaning preferences are far less reliable at coming back to their respective major party.
The recent wave of teal independents follows the fracturing of the UAP into multiple parties towards the end of its lifespan, but even before this it was the centre-right who introduced preferencing because of a tendency to have a multiplicity of candidates.
People who value individual freedom and personal conscience tend to herd about as well as cats. They need to be inspired and led.
Moderate Liberals are often fond of quoting Menzies as saying that Liberals were determined to be a progressive party, but what is too often forgotten is that as a visionary with a strong will Menzies would define what progress meant. He was not a weathervane pointing the direction of social and political trends beyond his control, and which actively eat away at a liberal ethos.
The centre-right will recover sooner or later, when it again finds its purpose. It is difficult to imagine that this will happen by simply chasing the teal vote.
The rest is here:
The Liberal party cannot rebuild until it rediscovers its reason to exist - The Guardian
- Have the Liberal Arts Gone Conservative? - The New Yorker - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Letters to the Editor: 'I see myself in Katie Britt' what liberal critics missed in the senator's response - Los Angeles Times - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Even when it criticizes Israel, the liberal world is not against us - opinion - The Jerusalem Post - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Former Trump Aide Alyssa Farah Griffin Becomes a Liberal Favorite - The New York Times - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Renowned author, liberal arts proponent to deliver annual Lester Lectures - Mercer University - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- NYU to Host Zaheer Ali at the Annual Liberal Studies Student Research ColloquiumApril 5 - NYU - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Power to the Neighborhoods!: New York City Growth Politics, Neighborhood Liberalism, and the Origins of the ... - Joint Center for Housing Studies - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Canada's Conservatives back NDP-Liberal anti-scab legislation that undermines the right to strike - WSWS - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- The Surprising Left-Right Alliance That Wants More Apartments in Suburbs - The New York Times - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- PARKER: Clarence Thomas, liberal racism and the ongoing denigration of Black conservatives - Kankakee Daily Journal - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Media Scream: Hollywoods freaks over Trump - Washington Examiner - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Why liberals failed in the fight against antisemitism - JNS.org - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Renew manifesto sneak peek and bits from Bucharest congress - EURACTIV - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Katie Britt calls on liberal media 'to pay attention' to border - 1819 News - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal truck wash cited $171k for OSHA violations - KSN-TV - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Over 30,000 Killed in Gaza, but Even Israel's 'Liberal Left' Says: That's War - Opinion - Haaretz - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Man Injured in Beaver County Accident - KSCB News.net - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- What is the Market's View on China Liberal Education Holdings Ltd (CLEU) Stock's Price and Volume Trends Monday? - InvestorsObserver - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- German liberals send defence expert into tripartite EU election leadership team - EURACTIV - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Ramaswamy warns liberal justices 'buying political latitude' with 9-0 ruling as more Trump cases lie ahead - Fox News - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- How much of this is propelled by white liberal guilt from executives?: Gutfeld - Fox News - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberals and the Libel of Christian Nationalism - The Imaginative Conservative - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Arts & Science Academy - Austin extends home winning streak to seven - MaxPreps - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Liberal Racism and the Denigration of Black Conservatives - Daily Signal - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- Watchdog group exposes radical, liberal ideology of school-based health centers - The Lion - March 12th, 2024 [March 12th, 2024]
- What happens when a liberal learns her family owned slaves? - Leader & Times - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Is it Liberal Arts, Without the Arts? - Xavier Newswire - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Quebec Liberal Party would be more popular with Denis Coderre at the helm: poll - Montreal Gazette - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Maine's Liberal Members of Congress Stand by Biden After Disastrous, Confused Press Conference - The Maine Wire - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Liberal Media Scream: Kristen Welker likes to lecture Republicans, too - Washington Examiner - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Australia's only Liberal government lives on - for now - Yahoo News Australia - February 11th, 2024 [February 11th, 2024]
- Liberal institutions are the threat to liberal institutions Claudine Gay is warning about - Washington Examiner - January 10th, 2024 [January 10th, 2024]
- Elon Musk, the "free speech absolutist" kicks liberal journalists off Twitter - Daily Kos - January 10th, 2024 [January 10th, 2024]
- Liberal Arts and studies in humanities under attack on college campuses - The Community Word - January 10th, 2024 [January 10th, 2024]
- Liberal candidate for federal byelection planned to run for Conservatives last year - National Post - January 10th, 2024 [January 10th, 2024]
- Bill Barton: 'The Liberal by the Bay' - Redheaded Blackbelt - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- OPINION | Female-dominated liberal arts imperative in male-dominated tech world - Tulane Hullabaloo - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts job with Tarleton State University | 37572379 - The Chronicle of Higher Education - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Laughing Stock: 'A liberal agenda' may not be what you think - Tucson Weekly - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Justin Trudeau plays the Trump card - POLITICO - POLITICO - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Norman Lear, Producer Of TV's 'All In The Family' And Influential Liberal Advocate, Dies At 101 - Newstalk 750 - 103.7 ... - KFQD - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Kremlin Taps Liberal Businessman to Oppose Putin in 2024 Election Report - The Moscow Times - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Norman Lear, producer of TV's 'All in the Family' and influential liberal advocate, has died at 101 - WV News - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- MoveOn Carries Out Layoffs as Liberal Groups Struggle to Raise Money - The New York Times - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Norman Lear, producer of TV's 'All in the Family' and influential liberal advocate, has died at 101 - El Paso Inc. - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- UW System President suggests universities with high numbers of low income students should shift away from liberal arts - Wisconsin Examiner - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Norman Lear, producer of TV's 'All in the Family' and influential liberal advocate, has died at 101 - The Caledonian-Record - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Israels representative in New York resigned to protest Netanyahu. Now hes got some tough words for liberal New York Jews. - Forward - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- Neal Milner: Watch That Swinging Door, Liberals, Lest It Hit You On The Way Out - Honolulu Civil Beat - December 7th, 2023 [December 7th, 2023]
- The Liberal Answer to Cancel Culture - Manhattan Institute - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Study: Liberal US priests facing 'progressive' extinction - The Pillar - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Liberal Jewish U.S. Groups Are Walking an Oh-So-Thin Tightrope - The New Republic - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Why a liberal arts degree is often a ticket to career success - USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Open Forum: In their time, founding fathers were liberal - The Winchester Star - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Liberals announce National Campaign Committee Co-Chairs - Liberal Party of Canada - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- UT College of Liberal Arts hosts panel about Senate Bill 17 - The Daily Texan - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Liberal Arts student uses platform to educate others on the ... - Pennsylvania State University - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Stanford celebrates 50 years of Structured Liberal Education ... - Stanford University News - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Brookline homes: One wealthy liberal town reckons with its past - The Boston Globe - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- The Value of a Liberal Arts Degree: Whats the Return on Investment? - The New York Times - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- California Police Say Investigation Ongoing into Death of Liberal Pro ... - Crime Report - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Liberal Arts, IST student scores sports technology internship with ... - Pennsylvania State University - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- And the award for the worst Liberal Party leader goes to... - The New Daily - November 8th, 2023 [November 8th, 2023]
- Street fights over prayer offer liberal Israelis a chance to define a Judaism they can believe in - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- Unmasking Hinduphobic Cartoons: The Liberal Media's Double Standard - The Jaipur Dialogues - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- UC presents lecture on liberal arts featuring Michael W. Twitty - University of Cincinnati - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- ISU makes progress on liberal arts cuts through incentivized ... - The Gazette - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- Investing in the future of the liberal arts | Binghamton News - Binghamton - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- Challenges to Liberal Democracy on Global Scale Is Topic of 2023 ... - University of Idaho - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- Liberal Democrats edge ahead of Labour on charging, with free ... - Disability News Service - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- Kerry Washington Creates $1 Million Earl and Valerie Washington ... - GW Today - September 29th, 2023 [September 29th, 2023]
- LILLEY: Justice Rouleau may have old Liberal Party ties but he's not Justin Trudeau's uncle or related at all - Toronto Sun - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- Brian Lilley: Justice Rouleau may have old Liberal Party ties but he's not Justin Trudeau's uncle or related at all - The Province - February 20th, 2023 [February 20th, 2023]
- force.com - November 27th, 2022 [November 27th, 2022]
- Liberal Party SA - November 25th, 2022 [November 25th, 2022]
- Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From ... - November 25th, 2022 [November 25th, 2022]
- Ex-VP Hamid Ansari's 'Challenges to a liberal polity' book review: The politics of being Indian - The New Indian Express - November 7th, 2022 [November 7th, 2022]
- English | Liberal Arts | UT - Austin - November 5th, 2022 [November 5th, 2022]
- Liberal values are absolute - The Tribune India - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Fixing another liberal tax burden - The Hill - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]