Political leadership and the fear factor

In the Atlantic political core, the politics of fear threw up essentially cynical rhetoricians like Clinton and Blair who massaged voter fear instead of addressing the causes. Politics became more and more focused on fear management through constant polling and spin doctoring. Of course, the underlying popular recognition of their gutted politics showed up in growing discontent with the two party system, and representative democracy generally.

In Australia this rising fear suited the political undertaker Paul Keating (although his ascendancy reflected internal ALP reaction, not popular opinion), and finally caused the unhappy revival of perhaps the most limited man in mainstream politics, John Howard. Keating rejected any ideas that Australia could continue to be a fair and successful country, instead we had to fear becoming a banana republic. His one-dimensional world view set the scene for Howard’s return. He further rejected any hope that Australia could be a more self confident place (the republic), a less racist place (Aboriginal issues), a more socially inclusive place (drugs, women’s issues, you name it), or a more environmentally secure place (global warming). At least Howard pretended to regret the fact that fear of economic incontinence obviated any hope for improvement; his obvious successor, Costello, revels in it. We must all take our medicine administered by Dr Costello.

This atmosphere of fear was the key element behind the xenophobia of the Tampa issue, and is the main reason why we find it so difficult to formulate a genuinely independent foreign policy. We can no longer fool ourselves that Britain looks after us, or that the US has our best interests at heart, especially in the days of Bush’s neo-isolationism, but we still cannot construct foreign relations that reflect our real interests. In the past Curtin, Chifley and Evatt showed that Australia could stand on its own two feet in global affairs, but that confidence has since been lost.

Can we find the necessary political leadership for a new age? The situation is hopeless in the Liberal Party, and even One Nation’s threat is not likely to stimulate leadership in the nationals, unless they recapture some of their Deakinite traditions. There are a few young guns claiming substance on the Labor side, notably Lindsay Tanner, Mark Latham and Duncan Kerr, but none of these offer anything to really get our teeth into. Their ideas are mildly remedial at best, all too careful. And anyway, the ways things are now in the ALP it is more likely that the dull machine man Stephen Smith will get the main job when Beazley and then probably Crean go. Perhaps the minor parties can produce someone with leadership credentials – Bob Brown looks the best bet – but the usual electoral irrelevance of these parties has worked against this possibility. Love or loathe her, Pauline Hanson showed that headlines come with bold assertions, and the minor parties should consider this instead of scrabbling for the same bunch of disaffected voters. Perhaps the recent electoral impact of minor parties and the success of One Nation will stimulate more capable people to get involved and take on leadership roles, and this might even influence the Liberals and Labor to respond.

But this is all clutching at straws. What we really need is a completely new political culture that attracts well rounded people with personal integrity and social conscience, and with the intellectual capacity to handle the big issues. We won’t get this while the increasing professionalisation of politics continues; while the mass media unilaterally shapes debate; while the same old bunch of political hacks and media heavies make all the decisions; while there is an obsession with winning office at all costs; and while the average punter things it is all a sad joke, and votes accordingly.

Vision is a product of both courage and intellect – you don’t generate it from focus groups or factional bargaining. Vision is not reactive, it is a product of sustained commitment to the idea that better can overcome worse. That people imbued with a belief in principle can make a difference. It’s possible that some of the current leadership aspirants could shake off the fear factor and remake themselves as men and women with a hopeful vision of the future, but if so it is high time they got on with it. This country cannot afford another generation of non-leaders; there is just too much to do, and it is getting late.