Popular conservative Senator, Matt Canavan, has been elected as leader of the Nationals. He replaces David Littleproud who, yesterday, said he was ‘buggered’ before stepping down.
Bridget McKenzie, Kevin Hogan, and Michael McCormack were also in the running.
We will never know the numbers, as the Nationals do not make them public. Some reports say it was close.
Canavan being a Senator instead of a Lower House MP is unusual but not a firm barrier to holding the leadership position.
Why Canavan?
It could be that the Nationals have chosen Canavan in the full knowledge he is the most qualified to take on One Nation in a modern election campaign which will be fought predominantly online. Not only is he prolific on his social media accounts, he frequently shares his views in print with publications and promoted the ‘Dark Nats’ meme that resonated with those voters who enjoyed Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain! cartoon series.
There is no need to guess at his politics. Canavan is firmly against Net Zero, the Climate Change policy framework, and the general concept of ‘Wokeness’.
He has been supportive of the US generally, but published an opinion article recently expressing caution in regards to the Iran war. Canavan is confident pointing out China’s free pass when it comes to the use of oil, gas, and coal while Australia has been criticised. And generally, he has taken a position of energy reality over ideological fantasy.
Certainly, Canavan is an advocate of regional Australians who have felt neglected under the previous Littleproud leadership which was often accused of being dragged around by the moderate-run Liberal Party. With new leadership in Angus Taylor, Canavan will have a better chance at rebuilding a more classical Coalition that Blue Ribbon voters will be familiar with and haven’t seen in a very long time.
The big losers in this decision are One Nation, who have relied on the Coalition abandoning their voters and the principles of conservatism. They rebranded themselves as the ‘Real Opposition’. A true and accurate statement under the Ley-Littleproud era. If Canavan and Taylor manage to push back against the Wets within their own parties, this narrative will be more difficult to execute.
However, if Taylor continues to cling onto Renewables with a softer branding, or fails to make plans to drastically reverse the cultural, social, and economic collapse of the last 20 years, One Nation will survive the restructured Coalition.
Has the election of Taylor to the Liberal leadership and Canavan to the Nationals leadership tempted you to come back to the Coalition?
What we will say is that Canavan has put up with a hell of a lot to get to this point.
