Returned Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had the tone right in his Federal Election victory speech on Saturday night. He was grateful and humbled. His comments were positive and he urged colleagues to be magnanimous in victory.
That last part goes out the window in the first Question Time after Parliament resumes in a few weeks. It will play out like this:
The Governor-General’s speech (written by the incoming government) will outline the Government’s agenda. A new Speaker will be elected and escorted to his or her chair with mock reluctance.
The Government will introduce its first legislation, making clear its solemn intention to deliver every promise made in the campaign. Then the public humiliation of a decimated Opposition in Question Time will begin.
What’s it like to be a returned government-in-waiting? The emphasis is on “waiting”. Unless you’re part of the leadership group, it’s all about letting the count of undecided seats finish and seeing what the PM does.
The public servants have completed briefing packs for incoming or continuing Ministers. These “Red Books” translate election promises in to “to do” lists. The PM will put Ministerial place cards onto chairs after considering the factional, gender and geographical make-up of his whopping majority.
Good performers need to be rewarded and potential challengers must be kept busy or at a distance. The indicators point to minimal change in the Ministry, but expect new blood to come into the ranks as part of a renewal process. It always happens.
The media post-mortems on the botched Opposition campaign have been landing like cluster bombs since Saturday night. All eyes will be on the Liberal Party Room for the election of a new Leader to a job that nobody genuinely wants.
Horse trading with the National Party for a new Coalition Agreement and Shadow Ministries starts after that. The Nats will put a shot across the Liberals’ bows just to make it clear that they’re nobody’s patsies and the disastrous result was not really their fault.
