Inside Story

National affairs “He could never inspire devotion in his followers, nor the feeling that he was the essential man” Norman Abjorensen 15 December 2014 One hundred years ago Joseph Cook made a mess of being prime minister. The parallels with today are striking, writes Norman Abjorensen National affairs Bragging rights Peter Brent 11 December 2014 Being in government is a chance to make the case that you’re a world-class economic manager, writes Peter Brent. Labor forgot that fact and will keep suffering the results National affairs After Abbott? Norman Abjorensen 9 December 2014 A lean field of leadership contenders could help the prime minister hang onto his job, writes Norman Abjorensen National affairs More reasons why the Abbott budget is so hard to sell Tim Colebatch 5 December 2014 The budget’s shortcomings don’t end with the fairness problem, writes Tim Colebatch

National affairs The Abbott government’s war on transparency Rodney Tiffen 5 June 2014 There’s a worrying thread running through decisionmaking in Canberra, writes Rodney Tiffen National affairs When Gough Whitlam helped out with the woodchopping Paul Rodan 22 May 2014 Poorly judged preselections are a problem for both major parties, writes Paul Rodan, and the electoral implications are becoming clearer National affairs Joe Hockey and the ghost of Bob Menzies Norman Abjorensen 14 May 2014 This week’s budget raises the question of whom the Liberal Party now represents, writes Norman Abjorensen National affairs What does the Liberal Party stand for? Peter Browne 24 December 2013 Like his recent predecessors, Tony Abbott came to office without a clear mandate, writes Peter Browne. That’s turned out to be bad politics and bad for the Liberal Party

National affairs Tony Abbott and the challenge of a Green-controlled Senate Norman Abjorensen 4 September 2012 It looks likely that the Greens will still hold the balance of power in the Senate after the next election. Norman Abjorensen looks at the numbers and asks: how would… From the archive Dick Casey’s forgotten people Stephen Mills 25 July 2012 The Liberals’ innovative 1949 election campaign offered voters an alternative worldview National affairs One way to lose an election Norman Abjorensen 8 May 2012 Was it the economics or the politics of John Hewson’s Fightback! strategy that failed, asks Norman Abjorensen National affairs Malcolm on the outer Norman Abjorensen 5 April 2012 The Liberals have displaced Labor as Australia’s tribal political force, writes Norman Abjorensen, and that makes Malcolm Turnbull an odd person out