The Liberals need to return to their core values to get back in power – a ‘left versus right’ internal power struggle won’t help

It’s the Liberal Party’s fault it lost government, and the sooner that is accepted, the sooner the party can identify the precise failures and get back to business.

Politics is simple and intricate at the same time.

And there is nothing quite like a federal election to deliver a swift message, though it may take some time to tease out exactly what was said and by whom.

In the angst of the aftermath, the most difficult thing is to find people willing to listen and able to pick up the pieces.

And there is no doubt the government was royally handed its backside.

But this time it wasn’t simply a resounding swing to Labor; it was a sizable swing to the Greens, a peeling off of the centre-right vote to minor parties, and an inner-city teal wave.

Consequently, there is plenty of debris for the Liberal party to sift through before going around the mountain again.

Blaming other people and engaging in an internal ideological struggle is not the answer.

It isn’t Mark McGowan’s fault that the WA Liberals got thumped, it isn’t a disingenuous teal campaign, it isn’t Clive Palmer spraying advertising across billboard and mastheads, and it isn’t that the media backed Labor.

It’s the Liberal Party’s fault it lost government, and the sooner that is accepted, the sooner the party can identify the precise failures and get back to business.

Moreover, a public ‘moderate versus conservative’ internal power struggle is unhelpful, self-indulgent and reinforces in the mind of the electorate everything they think is wrong with the party.

It isn’t about left or right and it isn’t about ideology.

It’s about the party needing to reacquaint itself with its core values and develop policies, based on those values, which are relevant to modern Australia.

And ‘modern Australia’ doesn’t mean becoming proponents of strident progressive authoritarianism.

It means, for example, providing the next generation of entrepreneurs with a digital economy policy which helps them navigate regulation and streamline it where possible; it means developing a clear and effective housing affordability policy.

And breaking news – there is more to policy than splashing cash in an electorate and calling it an investment.

The Liberal Party is at its best when it engages with the community, develops policy which is practical and widely beneficial, and articulates its message in a clear meaningful way.

Historically, Labor sells a good story but can be hit-and-miss on execution and economic management.

By comparison, the Liberal Party are historically superior fiscal managers and better at developing policy which encourages economic growth and broad prosperity.

And while Labor can get away with being a bit hit-and-miss because they make the electorate feel warm and fuzzy, the Liberal party are expected to be incisive and competent.

That same electorate has no qualms punishing the party if they don’t think it measures up to that expectation.   

So, we need to get back to our dispassionate, sensible, and competent best and park the emotional overwrought ideological garbage at the door.

Re-engaging with the broader community is also imperative to developing any effective future platform.

Frankly, there is nothing less representative of the community than a Liberal party State Council meeting and it’s only with genuine community engagement that the party can appreciate issues affecting the community and identify high-quality locals for potential preselection.

To that end, Liberal candidates should reflect their local community and hold values common to both the community and the party.

A seat in parliament should not be a reward for loyal factional foot-soldiers, preselected late in the piece, with campaigns run like transactional quickies in the broom cupboard.

Ultimately, the party has to renovate itself to remain relevant. If it wants to remain the mission brown geometric 1970s bathroom of federal politics, it can expect to be demolished.