Australia’s Political Upset Raises Alarm Over Instability
The overthrow of Australia’s fourth prime minister in two years has triggered a bout of soul searching over the integrity of the country’s political system.
Malcolm Turnbull addressed Parliament after he was sworn in as prime minister in Canberra on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP PHOTO/ROB GRIFFITH
The overthrow of Australia’s fourth prime minister in two years has triggered a bout of soul searching over the integrity of the country’s political system, raising the question: Is coup culture the new norm?
Malcolm Turnbull was sworn in on Tuesday as Australia’s 29th prime minister after he ousted the unpopular Tony Abbott in what was the shortest reign since the 1960s.
Mr. Abbott blamed his downfall on the scrutiny placed on politicians by a 24-hour news cycle, one that is amplified by social media, and a factor that many political observers also highlight: brief, three-year election cycles that lead lawmakers to obsess over voter opinion polls.
“Poll-driven panic has produced a revolving door prime ministership which cannot be good for our country,” Mr. Abbott said. “Australia has a role to play in the struggles of the wider world, the caldron of the Middle East and security in the South China Sea and elsewhere. I fear that none of this will be helped if the leadership instability that has plagued other countries continues to taint us.”
A chastened Mr. Abbott said on Tuesday that he wouldn’t seek to undermine his successor. However, experts said Australia’s confrontational brand of politics that encourages rebels to air differences in public would continue to provide disaffected lawmakers with chances for rebellion, especially if midterm polls point to defeat for their party in a national vote.
“It seems to be the way these days, that if the electors don’t bring you down, your own party colleagues will,” said Nick Economou, a political scientist at Melbourne’s Monash University. “We’ve been brought up to expect stability. But maybe there’s a new volatility now in Australian politics.”
Unlike the U.S.’s constitutional political system, Australia’s parliamentary system allows a small group of politicians to oust a leader elected in a popular vote, similar to the U.K.’s model but with one big difference: the U.K. has a 5-year election cycle.
No sooner are Australian leaders elected to one of the world’s shortest political leadership spots than they begin worrying about their chances of winning another term, elevating the importance of good poll results, political observers say.
“Disunity is death,” former conservative Prime Minister John Howard, who ruled for almost 12 years until 2007, repeatedly said during his time in office.
In contrast to Australia, the U.K.’s recent history is one of stability rather than volatility. The last sitting British prime minister to step down in the wake of a leadership challenge was Margaret Thatcher a quarter of a century ago.
ENLARGE
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott held a news conference on Tuesday in Canberra after he was ousted.PHOTO: EPA/SAM MOOY
Aside from the Howard period, Australians experienced a long period of stability under Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke between 1983 and 1991. Voters warmed to his consensual approach to politics and laidback personality: he once drank 2-1/2 pints of beer in 11 seconds, a feat recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Mr. Hawke was ousted by his treasurer, Paul Keating, who won the 1993 election before losing to Mr. Howard in 1996.
The mean season of Australian politics started in earnest in 2010 when the center-left Labor Party government of Kevin Rudd proposed an overhaul to the century-old system for taxing resources—a sector that accounts for more than half of Australia’s annual exports.
Mr. Rudd was ousted by his party shortly after and was succeeded by Julia Gillard, before being returned to power in 2013. Throughout her brief term, Ms. Gillard was plagued by backroom plotting and damaging internal leaks by supporters of Mr. Rudd still smarting over his ouster.
“Arguably there is a deficit at the heart of the system—and a fractious style of politics that encourages back-stabbing, backbench rebellion and political instability,” said Simon Tormey, a political expert at the University of Sydney.
Mr. Rudd rode into Canberra on a wave of popularity in 2007, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat who returned Labor to power after 12 years of conservative rule. He won plaudits for using stimulus money to help Australia sidestep the global recession.
But cracks appeared in his government after a series of policy setbacks, notably the failure to pass a carbon cap-and trade plan he had promised in his campaign when Senate conservatives called it too tough on industry and Greens called it too lenient. When Mr. Rudd shelved the plan, many in Australia questioned his credibility.
Mr. Abbott’s Liberal-National coalition came to office with a landslide win in September 2013, in part because of voter discontent over the leadership contests that roiled Mr. Rudd’s Labor government under Mr. Rudd and Ms. Gillard.
“It is Shakespearean,” said Haydon Manning, a political expert at Flinders University in South Australia state. “The next few weeks and months will be crucial. Will the defeated players now depart the stage and allow the party to hold together to win an election, or will they haunt the stage?
Malcolm Turnbull addressed Parliament after he was sworn in as prime minister in Canberra on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP PHOTO/ROB GRIFFITH
The overthrow of Australia’s fourth prime minister in two years has triggered a bout of soul searching over the integrity of the country’s political system, raising the question: Is coup culture the new norm?
Malcolm Turnbull was sworn in on Tuesday as Australia’s 29th prime minister after he ousted the unpopular Tony Abbott in what was the shortest reign since the 1960s.
Mr. Abbott blamed his downfall on the scrutiny placed on politicians by a 24-hour news cycle, one that is amplified by social media, and a factor that many political observers also highlight: brief, three-year election cycles that lead lawmakers to obsess over voter opinion polls.
“Poll-driven panic has produced a revolving door prime ministership which cannot be good for our country,” Mr. Abbott said. “Australia has a role to play in the struggles of the wider world, the caldron of the Middle East and security in the South China Sea and elsewhere. I fear that none of this will be helped if the leadership instability that has plagued other countries continues to taint us.”
A chastened Mr. Abbott said on Tuesday that he wouldn’t seek to undermine his successor. However, experts said Australia’s confrontational brand of politics that encourages rebels to air differences in public would continue to provide disaffected lawmakers with chances for rebellion, especially if midterm polls point to defeat for their party in a national vote.
“It seems to be the way these days, that if the electors don’t bring you down, your own party colleagues will,” said Nick Economou, a political scientist at Melbourne’s Monash University. “We’ve been brought up to expect stability. But maybe there’s a new volatility now in Australian politics.”
Unlike the U.S.’s constitutional political system, Australia’s parliamentary system allows a small group of politicians to oust a leader elected in a popular vote, similar to the U.K.’s model but with one big difference: the U.K. has a 5-year election cycle.
No sooner are Australian leaders elected to one of the world’s shortest political leadership spots than they begin worrying about their chances of winning another term, elevating the importance of good poll results, political observers say.
“Disunity is death,” former conservative Prime Minister John Howard, who ruled for almost 12 years until 2007, repeatedly said during his time in office.
In contrast to Australia, the U.K.’s recent history is one of stability rather than volatility. The last sitting British prime minister to step down in the wake of a leadership challenge was Margaret Thatcher a quarter of a century ago.
ENLARGEFormer Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott held a news conference on Tuesday in Canberra after he was ousted.PHOTO: EPA/SAM MOOY
Aside from the Howard period, Australians experienced a long period of stability under Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke between 1983 and 1991. Voters warmed to his consensual approach to politics and laidback personality: he once drank 2-1/2 pints of beer in 11 seconds, a feat recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Mr. Hawke was ousted by his treasurer, Paul Keating, who won the 1993 election before losing to Mr. Howard in 1996.
The mean season of Australian politics started in earnest in 2010 when the center-left Labor Party government of Kevin Rudd proposed an overhaul to the century-old system for taxing resources—a sector that accounts for more than half of Australia’s annual exports.
Mr. Rudd was ousted by his party shortly after and was succeeded by Julia Gillard, before being returned to power in 2013. Throughout her brief term, Ms. Gillard was plagued by backroom plotting and damaging internal leaks by supporters of Mr. Rudd still smarting over his ouster.
“Arguably there is a deficit at the heart of the system—and a fractious style of politics that encourages back-stabbing, backbench rebellion and political instability,” said Simon Tormey, a political expert at the University of Sydney.
Mr. Rudd rode into Canberra on a wave of popularity in 2007, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat who returned Labor to power after 12 years of conservative rule. He won plaudits for using stimulus money to help Australia sidestep the global recession.
But cracks appeared in his government after a series of policy setbacks, notably the failure to pass a carbon cap-and trade plan he had promised in his campaign when Senate conservatives called it too tough on industry and Greens called it too lenient. When Mr. Rudd shelved the plan, many in Australia questioned his credibility.
Mr. Abbott’s Liberal-National coalition came to office with a landslide win in September 2013, in part because of voter discontent over the leadership contests that roiled Mr. Rudd’s Labor government under Mr. Rudd and Ms. Gillard.
“It is Shakespearean,” said Haydon Manning, a political expert at Flinders University in South Australia state. “The next few weeks and months will be crucial. Will the defeated players now depart the stage and allow the party to hold together to win an election, or will they haunt the stage?
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