Review of Norman Abjorensen, John Howard and the Conservative Tradition

The assessment of Howard, the book’s prime focus, is especially disappointing. He is painted almost as a caricature rather than a modern day politician who has a mix of views, who has to compromise across a range of areas, who kept winning elections, who was resilient both in opposition, in government and since losing office, has been anything but ordinary. Certainly Howard can and ought to be criticised, but some balance, please.  To describe Howard as fanatical in relation to his “campaign against trade unions and the rights of workers” is an over-exaggeration. And being against trade unions does not make you fanatical. Less than 20 per cent of the Australian workforce now joins trade unions.  And Howard could not have held office as long as he did unless some "workers" voted for his government.

The book talks about the “bitter legacy” that Howard left, but it is not clear just for whom this legacy has been left to since 2007. Certainly not for Howard personally, given his apparent easy adjustment since leaving office. Certainly not for Liberal Party which after some initial leadership changes almost won office at the 2010 election. And surely not for Australia as a whole, that survived the global financial crisis, partly, if not wholly, through some good economic policies of the Howard years that left the country with its lowest unemployment in 30 years and a very low level of industrial disputation!

This is not to say everyone was totally happy with Howard legacy, but when did any government expect to have such widespread and uncritical support?

This is a disappointing book. Sure, be critical of the Howard Government. The role of academics is to provide independent critical analysis. They must do so with consistent criteria and transparent frameworks of comparison. They must canvass a range of views, not just one. They must assemble and sift the evidence, always contestable in these sorts of cases and test views before making a final assessment. A definitive analysis of the Howard years is yet to come.