The Prime Minister, John Howard, has counselled his Liberal Party colleagues "to not develop any sense of complacency or any sense of smugness out of the disarray or difficulty of one's political opponents".
Speaking to a Prime Minister's Business Lunch at the Hyatt Hotel in Perth, Howard reiterated his analysis of the contemporary political climate, describing the political world now as "very non-tribal".
Reminding his listeners of the difficulties his government faced just over a year ago, he said: "People's political affections are more fickle now then they've ever been in the time that I've been in politics. Attitudes can change very rapidly and I've constantly warned and encouraged my colleagues in the Federal Parliamentary Party not to fall into any sense of complacency or any smug belief that because of the current difficulties of our opponents that that guarantees the outcome of the next election. Politics is a very uncertain game."
This is an extract from the speech given by the Prime Minister, John Howard, to a business lunch in Perth:
The last thing I want to say ladies and gentlemen is to direct some remarks to the Liberal Party itself around Australia. We are in an unusual position at the present time, we hold power nationally but we're out of office at a state level and at a territory level in every area of government. That poses a challenge for us here in Western Australia as it does in New South Wales and indeed in all of the other states. Can I say speaking from a national perspective that the spirit and the morale of our federal parliamentary party is very high. Our opponents at the present time federally are very divided and directionless and going through one of those periods in politics that every political party will go through. Can I say to all of you that whilst it is a situation that from time to time is of interest and of satisfaction to me, I've seen enough of politics over the 28 years that I've been in Federal Parliament to not develop any sense of complacency or any sense of smugnes! s out of the disarray or difficulty of one's political opponents.
We live in a very non-tribal political world. People's political affections are more fickle now then they've ever been in the time that I've been in politics. Attitudes can change very rapidly and I've constantly warned and encouraged my colleagues in the Federal Parliamentary Party not to fall into any sense of complacency or any smug belief that because of the current difficulties of our opponents that that guarantees the outcome of the next election. Politics is a very uncertain game. I dare say that many in this room who might have attended luncheons that I addressed in the early part of last year in Perth probably would have thought to themselves that it might be the last time they were hearing me speak as Prime Minister. Because our fortunes in the early part of last year were to say the least fairly ordinary and we were seen by many as in the terminal phases of a period of government. And I have to say that there were periods and although I never lost enthusiasm and hope and commitment, there were periods when I recognised that we were facing a very tough fight.
So all of that is a reminder of just how changeable and how variable politics is. And the message I have for my Federal Parliamentary colleagues and the message I have for the supporters of the Liberal Party here today and all around the country is that it is precisely when your political opponents are going through difficulty, it is precisely when they appear to be suffering adversity, when it is time for an incumbent government to redouble its efforts to remain in touch with the community and to redouble its efforts to present itself to the community as a government of new ideas and of ongoing spirit and ongoing determination and commitment. And that is what we hope to do over the next two and a half years.
And in our relations with the business community can I repeat something I've frequently said at gatherings such as this. The Liberal Party, unlike our political opponents, is not owned by any one section of the Australian community. We don't have a 60-40 rule operating at any of the state conferences of the Liberal Party. We don't have 10, 20, 30, 40 or any percentage of votes allocated to business interests. But we do, very importantly, we have a broad sympathy with the philosophy of the business community of Australia. We don't always agree with you and you won't always like what we do. But we are a party that is committed to the cause of competitive capitalism. When I addressed the US Congress in June I identified some of the values that I held in common with most of the people in that Congress. And I said that one of those values was a strong personal belief that competitive capitalism was the true source of generating national wealth. And that remains the core economic philosophy of the government and I know it is a value that we share very much in common with the men and women in this room.
Can I thank you for the support that you've given to the Liberal Party organisation here in Western Australia. Can I think Kim Keogh for the great leadership that he's given to the party organisation over the last 12 months in challenging times, and with his leadership the organisation was able to give tremendous help to me as federal parliamentary leader in a very difficult climate. I thank you for your past support, I encourage you to maintain it, not only for us but also for Colin Barnett and his colleagues at a state level. They face the difficulties and challenges which I remember only too well of Opposition. It's the toughest job in politics being a leader of an opposition, be it federal or state, Liberal or Labor, I remember it very well, I have no intention of going back to it but I can empathise with somebody who's currently experiencing it.
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