By Jim McIntosh
Reports in The Age and other outlets reveal that senior National Party MPs are reeling with ‘dismay’ after a chaotic week in which their leader, David Littleproud, impulsively exited the Liberal-National coalition, only to scramble to undo his decision. To me, and surely many others, this political circus is utterly hilarious, though unsurprising given the Nationals’ inflated sense of their own importance. It’s like a petulant teenager storming out of home, only to crawl back, soaked and shivering, when independence proves too harsh. The drama is pure entertainment, exposing the party’s fragile ego and precarious standing.
These ‘senior MPs’ are mostly those holding shadow portfolios or aspiring to them, roles that offer better pay and prestige than the $230,000 base salary of backbenchers. Naturally, they’re dismayed. Exiting the coalition risks demoting them to obscurity alongside their sidelined colleagues, as the Liberals, taking the formal Opposition mantle, would monopolise all shadow ministry positions. At worst, it could condemn the Nationals to permanent irrelevance, a mere agrarian socialist rump languishing on the cross-benches – a prospect none of them savour. Even the least astute among them see the danger: a fractured party teetering on the edge of political oblivion.
This fiasco casts a harsh spotlight on Littleproud’s leadership. How long before he’s ousted, having spectacularly self-destructed? Does anyone beyond the party’s rural base even care? The Nationals’ influence is fading, their rural strongholds no longer enough to sustain their clout. In the broader political arena, they’re a sideshow – amusing but inconsequential. Their internal bickering and strategic blunders only underscore their struggle to stay relevant in a shifting landscape. For now, we can watch the chaos unfold, popcorn in hand, as they grapple with their self-inflicted wounds. Will they regroup, or continue this slow-motion implosion? Either way, their antics offer little more than a fleeting distraction from the real political game.
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Since it was pretty obvious that the coalition was not going to win this election, you would think that the Liberals and Nationals might have given some thought to the aftermath. It indicates that they are not very good at planning for future disasters, either their own or for the country.
Former National Party Leader Michael McCormack summed up the situation, when asked about Littleprods leadership, he adopted the fatal words used by Scott Morrison about Malcolm Turnbull days before Peter Dutton and Morrison shafted him :
He's my Leader.....I'm ambitious for him
simple go to katter, wilkie and one more to become the opposition