Work Smarter, Not Harder: Political Game Plan

The name of the game is working smarter not harder. Using what assets you have available to you to achieve your ultimate objective; reclaim office in 2016.

In politics, the leader who is faced with ministers and others who are not performing and this is coupled with the internal challenges of people sitting in different camps he/she has only a few options.  The camps could probably be managed but when those camps are stocked with immature backbenchers, the challenge becomes even greater. Let’ face it, the Conservatives have an overabundance of immature backbenchers. They don’t have the staying power needed, to deliver unpopular change which is essential to set us up for the future. It’s all about self with them.  

So what are some of the possible limited options?

• Move people on and then face an internal revolt from the opposing camp? It might work if the anti-camp numbers were on the lower side. But very dicey if not. You could possibly afford to do it, if your electoral 'stocks' were high and you have time to weather the storm. But in the case of our PM his stocks are unfairly low and time is pressing. So, if you are presiding over a camp of vipers, who have already tried to destabilise you, it's probably not the best option. 

• You can leave the deadwood and the traitors where they are. In essence do nothing. That would surely mean continuing to fight leaks to a salivating media. Disenfranchise your support base (we are seeing evidence of that already).  You would risk certain further challenges to your leadership. All of this can be distracting and if you are an achiever as the PM is, incredibly frustrating; always looking over your shoulder to see where the next knife is coming from. That is debilitating and exhausting and it takes you back to scenario one at some. The point where everyone on both sides as had enough.   

• Or you can stand back and let ‘nature’ take its course. Take the arm’s length approach and let someone else determine the 'deadwoods' fate. Be that the media, the electorate or even the opposition. Or simply let the deadwood hang themselves. You achieve the desired result, you don’t have blood on your hands and you are responding to the electorates’ demands.  

In the third scenario you will cop flak (a bucket load of it) certainly from your supporters. They will judge you as being weak and indecisive. In fact it’s the opposite. Those would seek to drop the ‘flak bucket’ with all due respect aren’t perhaps that strategically minded or aware of the internal goings on at a deeper level. I think this is the game Tony Abbott is playing. It's risky, it's courageous but in my opinion, it's smart.

Mr Abbott has a lot of deadwood and far too many gutless backbenchers who turn at the slightest bit of pressure. Remember the 39 would be assassins? There is one less now, but they are still there.  If Mr Abbott had moved on Bronwyn Bishop many of those assassins would have been screaming for a spill.

I like Bronwyn and let’s face it; we have too few good women in politics. Bronwyn has been a long standing loyal servant and whilst I think her helicopter misdemeanour was foolish, it wasn't a hanging offence. Certainly not in light of what has surfaced since. But the question that has been overlooked in the helicopter fiasco is her performance.

Having declared my personal feelings toward her I need to be honest and say, she wasn't the greatest Speaker. It's fair to say she was tested day in day out in QT by the recalcitrant children on the opposition bench. But even I cringed over some of her decisions and I have a ‘blue eye’.  That said, nothing was going to improve and she was becoming a distraction. QT was turning into Labor 'versus with the speaker' battleground deflecting the Govt from its task of demolishing the opposition. You only had to follow the twitter timeline to see that. Over the last two sittings in particular running comment was about the Speaker and who on the opposition bench she had kicked out, not the Govt frontbenchers silencing the opposition and highlighting the flaw in the oppositions attack.  So thanks to the opposition, media and electorate Mrs Bishop is gone. Hopefully, the new Speaker will be a secondary player and not manipulated by the opposition to play the starring role.

Managing costs is a burning issue for the PM. He is well aware of the gross abuse of parliamentary travel rorts. As we have discovered this is a problem everywhere. LNP, Labor, Independents & Greens all have abusers within their ranks. If the PM was to try and fix this he would be slaughtered. It has been tried in the past and voted down. Now, the electorate outrage is at such a level even Bill Shorten agrees something has to be done.  

And I should add Christopher Pyne isn't the greatest performer. The electorate will judge him harshly over his travel rorts.  I dare say a few others will also fall into that camp as well and hopefully a few will be consumed by guilt and jump ship.

Sadly Mrs Bishop was the sacrificial lamb and we owe her a huge debt.

So yes, I think Tony Abbott is playing a very interesting game. There will be more ‘outings’ over coming months. There will be endless rumours of challenges. The media has already started their three monthly ‘leadership challenge’ rumours (now called hints). As Conservatives we need to stand firm. Weather the storm. There is a plan, that plan has been put into play. You either choose to ride with it or continue to attack those you purport to support. The true blues will ride it out.

To quote Sun Tzu:

 "A military operation involved deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective"

"All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which the victory is evolved"