He did. And he also convincing lost the next election.
In that loss the red/blue line didn't move a lot (it doesn't have to move much to get a change of government). But what is notable is that prime ministers party fractured. They lost a lot of seats to a bunch of business women.
Those women look to be of the same colour politically as the prime minister - free market, fiscally conservative. But in the lingo of the culture wars they aren't "woke". They care the legacy they hand their future selves and their children. They regarded dissing our largest trading partner to the point they sanctioned our imports (which lost us billions in trade income) to make a few woke points as insanity. The regard putting effort into fostering cooperation and "just getting" along as a priority.
Thus it looks to me is what happened to Australia's culture wars is one side of the war has won. Meanwhile in the US, it looks like the battles continue.
> He did. And he also convincing lost the next election.
A little bit of a correction needed here. Morrison brought the lump of coal to parliament in February 2017 [1] when he was the treasurer in Turnbull's government. A year and a half later, in August 2018, he betrayed Turnbull during a leadership contest (initiated by another contender) and became PM. He then went on to win the next election as PM, in May 2019. It wasn't until the following election (May, 2022) that he got booted out.
So that makes a bit over 5 years between his lump of coal stunt and losing power (2 elections later). I agree that his obnoxious, non-serious antics in the renewable energy / fossil fuel debate contributed to the rise of the 'Teal' independents that were pivotal in his loss of the 2022 election, but I don't think that stunt was a proximate cause, as you seem to be suggesting.
Yes, you're right. It does read like I'm making a connection between the coal incident and the last electoral loss. That wasn't my intention.
Nonetheless the presentation of that lump of coal in parliament was a loud shot in the cultural war, and I'm sure Morrison was proud of it at the time. But history has not been kind as while the side firing that shot won the day, they lost the war. That lump of coal looks like a polished turd now.
As you say, they didn't lose the cultural war because of that shot. I suspect that loss was caused by COVID, bush fires and then floods. "We will do what we bloody well want and screw the future" becomes less appealing after nature delivers a lesson on what that future could be.
