An existential battle looms for Victorian liberals as they digest destruction

Strandzia said there was a clear lack of determination to solve the problem, organizationally or philosophically. A conscious strategy taken from John Howard saw the Liberal Party diminish its progressive powers and turn into a more conservative, populist party, chasing votes in the suburbs and regions, especially among men.

“Scott Morrison has taken this strategy to new heights,” Strangeio said. “The party’s position on climate change has vividly illustrated this strategy.

“It was a strategy that either complacently treated its progressive voters, or, worse, under Morrison, deliberately viewed them as an expense. Victoria and especially Melbourne in this view were a place that was simply invulnerable to (new) liberal values: the Australian Massachusetts.

The party is now seriously discussing these issues. The problem is that there are now very few senior Victorian liberals left who could challenge the ideological debate.

Treasurer Josh Friedenberg, a man often touted as the future prime minister, very likely lost its place from Kooyong to become independent Monique Ryan. The party has also lost Higgins, a position previously held by former treasurer Peter Castello, and incumbent Katie Allen lags behind Labor by 44.6% in a bipartisan environment. Tim Wilson lost Goldstein’s place because of Zoe Daniel’s tea.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy must now try to distance the state party from the federal massacre, saying Age“Of course, there are lessons for the Liberal Party from this result.”

“Victorians voted for change. They want to be listened to. They want real solutions to the problems we face. They want the government to deal with them, not party politics. “

Tim Smith, an MP from Kew State until November, described Friedenberg Kuyonga’s loss (which overshadows his seat in the state) “as an absolute tragedy for the Liberal Party”, and the result showed that the Liberal Party “has very little in Victoria”.

“It’s not a reflection of the left or the right,” he said. “We did not give anyone enough grounds to vote for us. You have to have a vision. ”

“We have been in office for 121 years,” Smith said Age. “We’ve been in Kew for 95 years. Honest answer: I can not believe that I am the last MP from the Liberals of the lower house, representing part of Kuyong for the next five months.

Former Victorian Liberalization President Michael Kroger reiterates this argument.

“At best, the Liberal Party has bold programs based on its traditional values ​​and compelling arguments for their implementation,” he said, “but the vast majority of the nine-year government has not convinced enough Victorians that it has a strong argument for another three years.” . This has led to “voter disappointment,” he said Age.

Kroger says the party needs to adapt its arguments to the standard of living and the future of the working middle class. But it is not necessarily sold by the idea that it should take a much more aggressive stance on climate change other than studying nuclear energy to meet Australia’s energy needs.

In private, some Liberals are more scathing about Morrison’s government, warning that it underscores the scale of the challenge facing Guy as he heads toward the Nov. 26 state election.

Among many, there is a palpable sense of anger due to what many see as Sydney-oriented Morrison’s approach, which often contradicted Victorian liberalism.

Said one senior Victorian liberalization activist, who declined to comment on the record, that the Federal Liberal Party was “seriously on its nose” in Victoria, largely disregarding more progressive voters concerned about the environment, good faith, and attitudes toward women. other issues.

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“Big swings are evidence. And I think we’ve gone from boiling to multiculturalism, from boiling to diversity and all sorts of other similar issues.

“They saw that we ignore people with needs.”

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