Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been brought down by a coup from within his own party, the conservative party (confusingly for Americans, is the Liberal Party). The new leader is Scott Morrison, a social conservative, who is seen as more likely to lead the Liberal-National coalition to victory in elections that must be held before November 2019.
This peaceful coup is important for two reasons.
First off, it shows how parliamentary systems elevate the choices of politicians over the choices of the electorate. For starters, Morrison is becoming prime minister, despite never being elected to that position by voters. He has instead been installed into “The Lodge” (Australia’s White House) by his own party’s lawmakers. The same was true of Turnbull when he deposed Tony Abbott in 2015.
Australia is far from alone in this dynamic. Italy’s notoriously unstable system of government means that prime ministers come and go almost annually. And in Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown ruled from 2007 to 2010 before being chucked out by voters.
Still, the Liberal-National coalition is taking a big gamble here. After all, while the main Labor Party opposition has been leading in the polls for 18 months now, those same polls have shown Turnbull to be a much more popular leader than his Labor counterpart, Bill Shorten.
The operative question is thus whether voters will also view Morrison more favorably. But as a proud social conservative in a nation that leans more center-left than center-right, Morrison’s selection is a risky one.
Regardless, Australia is one of America’s closest allies. Trump should wish Morrison good luck!
