I totally get why Dutton is being touted as the federal opposition leader.Wow... people are naive.
Firstly, on Peter Dutton becoming leader. People used to think that Tony Abbott was unelectable as Prime Minister. He was literally known as "the mad monk". Not only did he end up opposition leader, but he ended up Prime Minister. You can argue about how terrible a Prime Minister he was, but he still got there. And the Liberals managed to carve out three terms on the back of Abbott's win. Make no mistake about it... Dutton can win an election and that should be a very, very scary prospect.
Remember that from Kevin07 to December 2009, Nelson and Turnbull (both moderates) as opposition leaders were never able to land a significant hit on Rudd - who enjoyed high approval ratings throughout most of this period.
In December 2009, Abbott (right-wing) becomes opposition leader and, over the course of the next six months, he is able to land a number of blows on Rudd and turn around the approval ratings to the point where Rudd was knifed internally - inciting three years of public instability that tarnished the federal Labor brand for the next decade and losing a net 28 seats over the subsequent two elections where Abbott ran as opposition leader.
So based on this precedent - do you go for a moderate simp or a right-wing attack dog?
Personally, I think the media landscape, social values and maybe even economic values, have shifted significantly over the last decade - to the extent that Dutton may not have the same success as Abbott - but we are also entering a very uncertain geopolitical and economic era - one in which a Dutton like figure could potentially thrive.
Last edited: