12 OPINION MONDAY OCTOBER 22 2018 This split can’t be resolved by another change of leader or a few policy changes. One side must ANDREW BOLT smarten up and win this battle AUSTRALIA'S MOST READ COLUMNIST YOU CAN BLAME IT ALL ON THE BATTLE FOR ONE MAN URELY, the Wentworth disaster will force the SLiberals to draw a line. Right through Malcolm Turnbull’s name. THE LIB CARCASS The former prime minister HE massive swing against Israel to Jerusalem, but just hours must be damned as a traitor and the Liberals in the BLOG WITH later his senators voted that it was unwelcome at any Liberal Wentworth by-election blogs.news.com.au “OK to be white” (only to then claim function after what he’s done proves the Morrison BOLT /heraldsun/andrewbolt/ they’d made an “administrative to them. Government is dead. It will HERALDSUN.COM.AU error” and reverse their vote). Check Turnbull’s record. Tlose the next election, and badly. And, of course, on one day he’d He’s a me-first careerist who But the media Left’s pet But that massive difference in promise to do everything he could to first asked to join Labor, before theory is wrong: the Liberal support in votes counted on cut electricity prices, yet on the next joining the Liberals. Liberals didn’t suffer this the day (48 per cent) and mailed in would promise to honour the Paris He’s since undermined a humiliating 18 per cent earlier (64.4 per cent) suggest the agreement on global warming and Liberal prime minister, Tony swing just because Liberals’ campaigning in the final cut emissions as well. Abbott, and taken his job. they sacked Malcolm days was catastrophic. To many voters, this must have He then lost 14 seats at the last Turnbull as prime This should be critical in figuring looked like utter cluelessness, made election, five by-elections last minister. what the Liberals must learn from worse late last week by reports of July, and every poll in nearly two Check the massive this debacle, whether they lose Barnaby Joyce thinking of replacing years. difference in support Wentworth or win it by a whisker. Michael McCormack as the He did that by dragging the for Liberal Did the huge swing show the Nationals leader and deputy prime Liberals from their conservative candidate Dave Liberals were being punished for minister. roots, and once MPs belatedly Sharma in the sacking Turnbull and — as his angry Morrison in these last weeks replaced him two months ago, postal ballots sent son, Alex, put it — being “taken over showed all the stability and sense of after revolting against his costly before Saturday frankly by extremists on the hard direction of a Catherine wheel, and global-warming schemes, and in the ballots Right”? his pandering to every side left him Turnbull immediately quit cast at polling Or was the problem that Turnbull respected by none. parliament. booths on the was replaced not by an “extremist of This is not a problem of He could have just delayed day. the hard Right” but by Scott Morrison’s alone. The whole Liberal resigning until the general They point Morrison, an intellectually incurious Party is now like that. election in a few months’ time. the finger former marketing man who shows Who can tell what core beliefs it He could have saved the Liberals straight at new little idea what his party really would still fight for? what they had to face on Saturday Prime Minister stands for? At least half its MPs are of the — an unnecessary and damaging Scott Morrison How obvious that was in the last cultural Left they should oppose, or by-election in his seat of and his inept couple of weeks of campaigning for are whateverists who’d happily run a Wentworth that they could not campaigning in the Wentworth, when Morrison kept Labor agenda (global warming, afford to lose, having just a one- past week or two. reacting wildly to events and identity politics) if it just means they seat majority. The support for betraying his too-transparent can keep power. What an act of bastardry. Sharma at the booths desperation to save the seat. But the other half include But Turnbull didn’t stop there. on Saturday was just 48 For instance, last month conservatives of conviction who’d He then crippled the Liberals’ bid per cent, which is why Morrison suddenly proposed yet rather lose than betray their ideals to defend his seat. Morrison just hours later another national day for Aborigines, — but whose ideals, in some cases, He refused pleas from Prime announced the Liberals had yet two weeks ago he defended the seem mean and reactionary, not Minister Scott Morrison and lost to independent Kerryn right of religious schools to ban gay optimistic and liberating. other ministers to help the Phelps. students (until brought to his senses This split can’t be resolved by Liberal candidate, Dave Sharma, But then the Australian two days later). another change of leader or a few with even a single tweet. Electoral Commission started to It was the same ideological policy changes. One side must In fact, the only time he count the postal votes mailed in confusion last Tuesday. Morrison smarten up and win this tweeted about Wentworth was to earlier, and the difference was chalk tried to bribe Jewish battle and the other — like a post by a campaign worker and cheese: they backed Sharma by voters in well, they must put up for Sharma’s main opponent, an overwhelming 64.4 per cent. Wentworth or walk out. Or be Kerryn Phelps. Phelps’ lead was slashed to with a promise carried out. And while his son campaigned ribbons, and the vote is now so to “consider” The struggle against the Liberals, Turnbull close that there may be a recount. moving our for the carcass of said not one word in defence of Until this shock twist, many in embassy in this Liberal the party he’d led twice. the media and the Liberal Left were Party has a His allies also destabilised claiming that voters in Wentworth, bloody way Morrison for weeks with Turnbull’s former seat, had revolted to go. trumped-up claims of Liberal against Turnbull’s sacking and MPs bullying women. defended his global-warming Sheer bastardry. crusading. I don’t say all this just to pay “Unless you act on climate out on a man I said from day one change, not even your safest seat is of his leadership would wreck the safe,” cackled GetUp!. Liberals, and treat them only as a And true, many voters in ladder for his ambition. Wentworth would indeed prefer There is a wider point: this is Turnbull to any other Liberal what the Liberals get when they leader, because this is an atypical forget their roots and choose a Liberal seat — rich, but with man of the Left to run a party of many gays and Jews, and the Right. containing a Labor That was always going to end state badly, and now the Liberals are electorate. left with an ex-prime minister An upbeat Kerryn who will be their enemy for the Phelps and a rest of his days. downcast Scott Lesson to the Liberals: don’t Morrison after the lose touch with your values. by-election. Don’t just go with the flow. Hear that, Scott Morrison? Stand true or fall apart. THE BOLT REPORT 7PM WEEKNIGHTS V1 - MHSE01Z01MA NTNE01Z01MA - V1