Bulldozed Scott Morrison's Fall and Anthony Albanese's Rise By Niki Savva
For those who didn't know, Australia had a federal election in May 2022 which resulted in a change of Government from the ruling Liberals to the opposition Labor Party. For us Laborites, it was a final release from what we all regarded as an increasingly toxic and corrupt Government.
Last month, I read Victory: The Inside Story of Labor's Return to Power by Peter van Onselen and Wayne Errington.
Since then, a further analysis has been published and I bought and have read and it's a beauty. First to the blurb:
Between 2013 and 2022, Tony Abbott begat Malcolm Turnbull, who begat Scott Morrison. For nine long years, Australia was governed by a succession of Coalition governments rocked by instability and bloodletting, and consumed with prosecuting climate and culture wars while neglecting policy.
By the end, among his detractors - and there were plenty - Morrison was seen as the worst prime minister since Billy McMahon. Worse even than Tony Abbott, who lasted a scant two years in the job, whose main legacy was that he destroyed Julia Gillard, then himself, and then Turnbull.
Morrison failed to accept the mantle of national leadership, or to deal adequately with the challenges of natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. He thought reform was a vanity project. He said he never wanted to leave a legacy. He got his wish.
Niki Savva, Australia's renowned political commentator, author, and columnist, was there for all of it. In The Road to Ruin, she revealed the ruinous behaviour of former prime minister Abbott and his chief of staff, Peta Credlin, that led to the ascension of Turnbull. In Plots and Prayers, she told the inside story of the coup that overthrew Turnbull and installed his conniving successor, Morrison.
Now she lays out the final unravelling of the Coalition at the hands of a resurgent Labor and the so-called teal independents that culminated in the historic 2022 election. With her typical access to key players, and her riveting accounts of what went on behind the scenes, Bulldozed is the unique final volume of an unputdownable and impeccably sourced political trilogy.
Morrison will be remembered for the following two quotes which came back to haunt him in the election.
'I don't hold a hose, mate.' Scott Morrison, 20 December 2019, on the Black Summer bushfires
'It's not a race.' Scott Morrison, 11 March 2021, on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout
It is obvious that Savva loathes Morrison and all he stands for and that makes the read even more enjoyable for us on the left. And here are plenty of references (all positive) to my son Paul Erickson who was the Election Campaign manager and the National Secretary of Labor.
Buy the book and relive the victory!
