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Hugs, Handshakes and That Smirk! Warning Signs of Low EQ and Failed Leadership

Forced awkward hugs, aggressive invasion of personal space, and forcing a handshake on people in distress, are all warnings about Scott Morrison’s Emotional Intelligence and Inauthentic Leadership style.

I Want to Wipe that Smirk Off His Face!

We collectively cringed as Scott Morrison forced a hug on New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. We watched in awkward trepidation as Morrison took up more and more of Shorten’s personal space in the Leader’s Debate. Shorten aptly nicknamed him “The Space Invader.”

There are generations of mothers out there collectively internally screaming, that they ‘just want to wipe that smirk off his face’ every single time he displays this bizarre, inappropriate emotion.

Anger and disbelief summed up our response this week as Scott Morrison forced a handshake on a Fire Fighter who had just lost his home. Moreover, we were further angered when he forced another handshake on a 20 year old pregnant mother, who had just lost her home. Gobsmacked, we watched, as she pleaded to him for help and he turned and walked away. Our arms extended, shaking and closed fisted, rose as the metaphorical pitchforks they rightly were.

The Warning Signs were Clear. Morrison would be a Poor Leader

Most importantly, the forced awkward hug on Jacinda Arden, the space invading of Shorten’s personal space and Morrison’s constant discordant smirking, alone, are warning signs.

The high focus on self, refusing to acknowledge fault, dismissing criticism, the inability to reflect on his own actions, the constant deflection to sports, refusing to acknowledge facts, a focus on him (or him and Jen) instead of ‘us’ (the people), refusal to acknowledge reality, blatant lies (even with video evidence!), a history of ruthless incivility, history of lack of empathy, his self-identity as a saviour, nicknaming himself and a lack of judgement are also warning signs.

Moreover, these are warning signs of a leader displaying low emotional intelligence and poor leadership skills. Clearly, Walkley award winning journalists should have examined this more closely; before the election..

What Political Historian Norman Abjorensen wrote about Morrison in The Canberra Times today, shows that Morrison is not struggling as a new Prime Minister. This is the latest excuse, inexperience and the challenge of a new Prime Minister; but clearly, this is who he has always been. The warning signs were all there from those who know him; but yet also voted for him as the Leader of the Liberal Party. (No wonder Julie Bishop quit!)

In a number of interviews with current and former colleagues, what emerged was a picture of a complex and secretive figure, both ambitious and ruthless, and with little capacity for empathy or care about anyone who stood in his way.

Norman Abjoresen, The Canberra Times 04.01.2020

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is touted as more important than IQ for leadership. You can be great at transactional tasks; but unless you can drive emotions and bring people along and feel the appropriate feelings and display the appropriate emotions – genuinely; nothing will work as well as it should. For example, if a Prime Minister smirks when he should be displaying empathy; he is exposed as inauthentic and out of touch.

There are five dimensions to emotional intelligence. I will discuss four of these dimensions as they apply to Scott Morrison. These are: Self-Regulation, Self-Awareness, Empathy and Social Skills. I have omitted Motivation for brevity.

Morrison and Emotional Self-Regulation

What Self-Regulation of emotions warns us about Scott Morrison; is he is more likely to push us into unsafe, and unfair environments. Leaders with High EQ keep us safe and environments fair.

Self-Regulation isn’t about with-holding emotion. Nor is it showing regular dramatic outbursts of anger and shouting (In fact, that is aligned with low EQ). It is about regulating emotion and applying the right emotion at the right time. This means a person must have the ability to understand the context and the situation at hand to respond. As a Prime Minister, Scott Morrison fails at doing this at a National level as well as when he communicates to each of us as individuals.

Reflection

A leader high in emotional intelligence is able to reflect on a situation and be thoughtful about it.

Morrison’s holiday in Hawaii, his secrecy around his holiday, his incompetence of clear deputy leadership at that time, his downplay of the natural bushfire disaster unfolding, are all signs of low emotional intelligence and being unable to reflect and act in a time of crisis.

Uncertainty and Change

If Morrison had the level of high emotional intelligence required of a Leader of high office, he would be able to be accept uncertainty and change and lead us through change with integrity.

There is not a starker contrast, than the entire world – the actual entire world actively working on strategies to reduce carbon emissions and act on climate change and a Prime Minister who carries a lump of coal into Parliament like a Life Like Baby Doll, he must lovingly look after all day for motherhood class.

A Global Pariah

Leaders with Low EQ will be judged by other leaders, due to the disconnect of genuine feelings about an issue and the emotions displayed about an issue. Morrison’s feelings and displayed emotions about Climate Change, and his flippancy towards action, is out of kilter with the global leadership community. The way leaders act has a ripple effect. Due to this, Morrison is already ridiculed globally. He will become increasingly isolated and become a global pariah in the community of international leaders passionate about climate change. This in-turn, will affect Australia’s standing in the global community, which could cause us significant damage to our reputation and trade options.

Morrison’s Self-Awareness is on Permanent Holiday

As a Pentecostal who participates in prayer, Morrison gives off the persona of one who is very emotionally self-aware. Furthermore, his first major speech as Prime Minister directed people to look inside his heart. Self-Awareness is about being in touch with your own emotions and feelings. Morrison paints himself as a man who is comfortable with his emotions and be level-headed enough to not get swept away by them.

Daniel Goleman, the leading expert on Emotional Intelligence, defines Self-Awareness as the most important dimension of leadership. Regardless of how Morrison paints himself as self-aware, his behaviour demonstrates otherwise. To be succinct, Morrison’s self-awareness is on permanent holiday.

Leaders with High Self-Awareness are in Tune with Emotion

Leaders with high self-awareness constantly reflect and challenge their own feelings, beliefs and emotions. They have constant goals about how to respond and behave in all situations. They actively seek feedback to improve their responses. As a result, they question why they feel a certain way about issues and events..

Most importantly, leaders with high EQ are able to develop their emotional responses in line with societal feeling rules and emotional display rules. These are the feelings and emotions we display, acceptable within our society. In short, a leader high in self-awareness should be in tune with how we are feeling and express genuine emotion to reflect back at us..

Leaders with high self-awareness, do not just reflect the same emotion we feel back at us. Their level of awareness is such, that even if they are feeling upset and distressed, they identify that others are feeling the same. They have a deep understanding of why they are feeling this way. Therefore, they display the emotions needed for others to feel safe and secure. They provide leadership and strength in dark times. Morrison fails demonstrably in this area.

It is Not About Me. (Oh Yes it is!)

Scott Morrison is facing increasing criticism about his responses and behaviour. Even those on his own side of politics are speaking out. NSW Liberal MP, Andrew Constance also echoing public sentiment that Morrison got the welcome he deserved, when when asked about Morrison’s visit to his fire ravaged community.

Morrison’s response to anger towards him, is “He doesn’t take it personally and it’s not about him.” Just by looking at this one response, we can examine how Morrison has a low level of self-awareness. Notably, he is missing a key leadership trait.

Leaders with low self-awareness are incapable of examining their own emotional responses. In addition, they focus more on self, than others. They also project a sense of being a victim, where they can. Also, they deflect and are uncomfortable talking about negative events. They also downplay situations.

When Morrison indicates, ‘he doesn’t let it (the anger) bother him’, he positions himself as a victim. A victim that is ‘strong’ and is not bothered by the anger of others towards him. In addition, he makes the event about himself and not about the fact that others are angry at his behaviours and actions. He deflects by saying, that it is not about him. When the anger is indeed about him.

There have been numerous other examples. The deflection of a poor choice of holiday time, to satisfying the wishes of his children. His beliefs about volunteer pay and his inability to reflect on these feelings dismissing them as heroes ‘wanting to be there.’ His “it can wait” attitude about emergency COAG, meetings with fire chiefs. His deep feeling of sporting camaraderie that we can take comfort in the hero worship of the cricket in times of a country on fire and so forth.

Morrison demonstrates Low Self-Awareness

If Scott Morrison had a high level of Self-Awareness, he would be able to reflect and understand why he has the feelings he has about certain issues. He would be able to identify that these feelings are incongruent with the feelings of Australians. Feedback would be crucial to him, that his emotions are coming across as callous and dismissive. Also, he would take heed of feedback that his words and actions are making people feel insecure, angry and frightened. Moreover, he would challenge himself to find the right emotion and words to comfort us and to lead us through this dark time. He does not.

Empathy – Jacinda Ardern He is Not!

If there is an example of a leader with perfect high level empathy as a construct of Emotional Intelligence, it is Jacinda Ardern. The empathy Prime Minister Ardern displays is high level in all three categories of empathy, that make up the EQ Empathy dimension. These are: Cognitive Empathy, Emotional Empathy and Compassionate Empathy.

Leaders with high level empathy are able to know and understand how others are feeling (cognitive empathy). They feel the same feelings as them at a deep level (emotional empathy) and they act with delicate compassion, but with lightning speed to move to help, when needed (Compassionate Empathy). Morrison is a total abject failure at this level.

Hurricane Morrison

Similar to the failed response to Hurricane Katrina in USA, Morrison has displayed a puzzling lackadaisical response to emergency co-ordination and urgency. In discussions about Leaders’ response to Hurricane Katrina, Daniel Goleman (Leading EQ Expert) highlights the importance of the poor response. He notes that victims were further victimised due to the indifference that the leadership showed. The abundance of TV Screens reflecting this, changed nothing.

Similarly, we watched in distress, upset, anger, tears, so many emotions as we witnessed yesterday, victims of the monstrous bush-fire, being further victimised by the indifference of a Prime Minister. A Prime Minister whose only concern was to pose as someone who cared, by literally grabbing victims’ hands and forcing them to shake his. Satisfied that he had his screen grab moment, he walked off, as he was being asked to provide more assistance.

Morrison has taken us down the dark spiral and we have crossed into the Abyss. A place beyond the netherworld, more sinister than a Prime Minister eating raw onions, or nodding for three minutes without saying anything in an interview.

Cognition, Emotion and Compassion

As a Prime Minister, it is crucial that Scott Morrison has a high level of empathy. Importantly, not only is he presiding over increasing poverty and joblessness, but now unprecedented catastrophic bush-fires that will go on for months. Bush-fires that have taken everything from people, including their lives and their loved ones.

A leader with high-level empathy, would act as Jacinda Ardern has acted in times of crisis in New Zealand. Sadly, the contrast could not be more stark. There are so many examples to give, but briefly, he would have shown cognitive empathy towards the concerns of fire chiefs, trying to meet with him for months. In addition, he would have had emotional empathy and displayed that he felt genuine emotion and empathy for fire victims and exhausted fire fighters and most importantly, he would have demonstrated compassionate empathy and acted with dedication and timely precision to do everything he could to prevent such a catastrophic event, but also respond to the needs of those affected, in abundance. He would have called urgent review and action of all climate action policies. He has failed on all levels.

However, it is not inarguable that Morrison and those around him are quite aware that he has poor empathy skills. We taxpayers just paid $190,000 for an empathy coach for him.

He Doesn’t Play Well with Others

It is every parent’s nightmare to have another parent call and say Johnny can’t come to the party because he doesn’t play well with others. In a nutshell, this sums up the necessity for leaders to have high level social skills.

Successful Leaders need high level social skills. In basic terms within EQ this is about being friendly, but with purpose. It is not just friendly banter, or being the biggest skulling bonehead dolt at the footy. Nor is it asking the open ended question repeatedly, “How good is…” with no meaning. High level social skills inspire and influence people.

Social skills in EQ are high level interpersonal skills required to bring people together for a purpose, high level negotiation, effective communication skills and change management skills, to name a few. Leaders with high level social skills also take ownership of responsibility seriously. Once again, Morrison fails at this level with great magnitude.

How the Popular Party Animal Got Fleas

Some may argue that Morrison was just elected as the Prime Minister of Australia and he has great social skills. It is true that we see him at the footy and cricket with happy mobs. He delves into our blokey culture of beer drinking with more photo ops. Let’s not forget that awful attempt at Fatman Scoop’s Be faithful (Hands Up) song in Parliament! We see him in thumbs up photos with adoring fans. So how did the popular party animal end up with fleas?

Daniel Goleman explains that we often mistake leaders who display aggression (such as invading Shorten’s space in the leader’s debate), the blokey tough guy stance (footy, drinking, thumbs up), and archetypal leaders, ie. the mongrel leader archetype, (shouty and demeaning to opposition) or hero archetypes (everyone’s mate – Scomo) for great leaders. Goleman says that we often mistake these traits for brilliance in a leader.

However, the test is when they make it to the top. For Morrison, this is what is playing out now and he is not doing well at all. The answer of popularity is that perception of a leader’s ability in times of crisis is not judged in manufactured situations. It is judged when the leader has to apply his or her skills. In fact, it stands to reason that when a large majority of people put their faith in a leader and that leader fails them in a time of desperation and crisis, he will be sent to the doghouse. And that is how he got fleas.

High Level Social Skills

If Scott Morrison had high level social skills, he would be right now effectively managing the biggest change since the industrial revolution we have faced. In a country where mining is a key industry and the shift that is required to address climate change; he is failing every single worker and every single community that needs jobs investment right now. This is an urgent requirement, not only to act on climate change; but to ensure mining regions are not left behind in poverty and joblessness when the market makes up his mind for him.

In addition, he would have demonstrated the social skills required to negotiate, direct, lead and co-ordinate the necessary prevention of and response to the more destructive natural disaster in our history.

He would not have gone off to Hawaii, or played cricket at Kirribilli House, or watched the Fire Works from his comfortable surroundings as people were fleeing terrified for their lives. In addition, he would have been available and communicated effectively his heartfelt support. He would be providing constant updates around the clock. He would give strength to those who must keep going in their delegated tasks. Importantly, he would display genuine empathy in his interpersonal encounters with victims and emergency workers.

Scott Morrison has failed dismally at every level. No. he doesn’t play well with others. He shouldn’t be at the party, let alone lead it!

Insecurity, Danger and Failure

The current crisis has exposed Scott Morrison as a failed leader. Using the concept of Emotional Intelligence, we can examine more closely why he has failed.

The terrifying aspect of seeking to understand Morrison from this angle, is that leaders with low emotional intelligence fail not just themselves, but us.

Everything about emotional intelligence underpins how safe we feel, how fair and equitable we are, how our paths to our own individual success is paved, the skills to develop the nation’s industry to name a few. Crucially, how we survive a time of crisis. The question on everyone’s lips should be – this is a natural disaster – what happens if there is a war?

It is two and half years to the next election and there are no jokes anymore. We are in for dangerous times ahead. The only hope we have is if the Liberal Party tests their new rule and he has a two thirds majority of the party to over-throw him. Otherwise, the cross bench could join together as a show of no confidence. They could refuse to pass any legislation and bring down parliament to an election.

Sadly, I think the only thing we can do is hang on. It will be a very dangerous and unpleasant ride ahead. Let’s hope we survive it. More importantly, let’s hope we survive him!

Two Things to Think About

I will leave you with a little food for thought. Goleman warns that there is a dark side to high cognitive empathy. In Narcissist, Sociopaths and Machiavellian Leaders, they are acutely aware of the pain and suffering caused. Above all, they have no sympathy for the victims to do anything about it.

I think the most fitting ending to a piece about a man who is all about himself, is to use a quote from the man’s Maiden Speech in Parliament. At the time, Morrison was talking about Africa. However, it is remarkably fitting for Australia today: As Scott Morrison once warned back in 2008:

When the history books are written, our age will be remembered for … what we did – or did not do to put the fire out …

Scott Morrison, Maiden Speech, 2008

 

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26 comments

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  1. David Evans

    Time’s up,….Smoko’s finished.

  2. Kerri

    This afternoon at the military announcement presser Morrison (whilst smirking behind the speakers at the time) was later asked about two encounters in the last couple of days.
    My focus was on the handshake/assault of Zoey.
    He then proceeded to ramble on about his “conversation” with Zoey and how he “did not turn his back”.
    He had answered her question and the conversation ended.
    This is a truly Trump level attempt to rewrite the history we have all seen by now.
    Then in reference to the (handshake/assault victim) firefighter who had lost his house, Morrison explained that “he was tired” and he “needed to rest” so Morrison gave him the space to rest. When he first forced himself on the firie, he spoke later than incident controller saying
    “Tell that bloke I’m sorry. I think he’s just tired” the incident controller replied “no no he just lost his house”
    Yet here we are today with the pig headed obdurate son of a ….. totally rewriting history in his own self image!!!
    Emotional Intelligence???
    He doesn’t even have everyday garden variety intelligence!
    The sooner he is gone. The better!
    But yes! Trish you are absolutely correct.

  3. Matters Not

    Re:

    … will leave you with a little food for thought

    Always a good idea. So with that (food for thought intention) in mind – Why is Morrison (and his government) leading in the polls? And have done so since the election? Or is it the case that a designated leader’s personal failings in fact have little or no bearing on election results?

    As you would be aware, theories are sustainable (only) if they pick out particular facts or if they have good predictive power over time. To date, it would seem that your theory (as outlined above) is not yet ‘useful’ in that when applied retrospectively it’s failed to live up to the promise. (After all, Morrison won, Or are you of the view that it’s better seen as a case of Shorten lost.) That’s not to say your analysis won’t be a good predictor for the future as more voters become aware of Morrison’s alleged failings.

    Then again, I see that predicting election outcomes is rather risky. Just sayin ..

  4. Trish Corry

    Your question is covered under the heading “ How the Popular Party Animal Got Fleas”

  5. Michael Taylor

    In my lifetime I’ve never known the people to be as angry as I see them now.

  6. Patagonian

    He’s lost control of the narrative. The story is everywhere, worldwide and there are no punches being pulled about his role in global warming. And Zoey McDonnell has simultaneously put a face to the tragedy and unmasked morrison on the world stage. He is f*cked. I don’t believe the LNP will want him standing up in the dispatch post come February, trying to deal with the firestorm he will cop. They will get rid of him and hope that whoever wins the poisoned chalice will be given the usual kid-glove treatment by the cancerous Murdoch media.

    And Matters Not, let’s wait for the next poll shall we? Word is that the internal Lib polling has him at single figures – and that was some days ago before he threw Gladys Binchicken under the bus and enraged the Australian Defence Association with his appalling promo video today.

  7. Sean Crawley

    Scomo becomes Smoko, holidays as Cocomo, and is revealing himself through his lack of EQ as Smirko.

  8. corvus boreus

    I agree that Morrison’s conduct has laid bare some serious fundamental flaws and failings, both personal and professional.
    I also agree that this has ignited and fuelled an incandescent anger in the broad community that is currently palpable, with most of it directed squarely at the smirking space-invader currently leading the coalition government.
    Therein may lie a fundamental problem..
    Remember Tony Abbott?
    There was another ‘low EQ’ politician with Machiavellian/narcissistic/sociopathic tendencies who managed to snatch the reins of prime-ministerial power, from which lofty heights an inexorably rising and surging tide of public anger at his blatant displays of positional unsuitability and personal inadequacy quickly sent him tumbling.
    Abbott’s abrupt ‘fall from grace’ did not, however, simultaneously topple the ruling conglomerate of parties which he was fronting.
    The governing coalition simply swapped leaders, far enough away from an election for the personally associated animus to abate, but close enough that the new lead-singer hadn’t time to fully display his own cacophonous failings.
    Change leader, hold election. Rinse and repeat.
    Rage can be hard to maintain, all the more so when it is all focussed on a single dummy-guy that can then be dragged off and ceremoniously immolated in a public display of sacrificial appeasement.
    Just a thought.

  9. Jimmy smith

    I’m not interested in this pathetic man anymore. What I’m interested in is what The Australian people do about it at the next election. After all he just the front to an inept, and dangerous group of politicians who are not doing anything about climate change. Actually they are weakening climate action worldwide. If this is not a turning point for this country we truly are fcked.

  10. New England Cocky

    An interesting dissection of the inept LIarbral elected to be leader of the Liarbral Party and confirmed as Prim Monster by Australian voters. Says a lot about why the LIarbrlas are generally all self-serving bluff and little community substance,

    The trend in Australian politics towards the terrible Presidential model election campaigning from the USA (United States of Apartheid) has grown over the last about 20 years because it is easier for Australian voters to comprehend and focuses election spending on a single message, “Our Messiah will bring you [insert policy]”.

    The solution is to use the present lack of Liarbral policies on everything to reflect the Shorten 2019 election policies that Australian voters missed because of their naive stupidity. Governments lose elections rather than Oppositions win elections. This happens when Australian voters realise that the incumbent scumbags are obviously looking after themselves at the expense of Australian voters.

    @Patagonian: Yup!! There is always Duddo stalking in the shadows waiting for his cronies to learn how to count before he thrusts himself on a disillusioned Australian electorate to turn our democracy into the 1930s German fascist Furheurstat.

    @corvus boreus: Agreed. Most metropolitan voters have an attention span of almost seven (7) days between their weekend life styles when many escape their overcrowded, congested, polluted home range for their weekly refreshment of wide open spaces, uncontested potholed regional roads and country fresh air.

  11. Ian Smith

    Thanks for this great insight Trish. This chart on the topic of EQ you raised is frightening in many respects, as it applies to so many populist RW MP’s the World over at this moment in time! http://transitionalsupport.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/eq3.jpg
    I’m seething at their absolute indifference!

  12. totaram

    I agree with cb completely. There are fresh revelations of how this is aided and abetted by the use of manipulation through social media.
    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/04/cambridge-analytica-data-leak-global-election-manipulation

    and we have already heard of how two clever chappies from NZ helped the Coalition to weaponise Labor’s good policies against them by twisting them around with lies.

    “The 2019 election was meant to be a climate change election about the killing of the Great Barrier Reef, the extreme drought and average summer temperatures across the continent hitting 40C. Yet Morrison and his campaign team managed to turn it into an election about the Australian Labor party’s tax plans.”

    Watch how they do it again. All this will soon be forgotten and in fact remembered as something completely different. When the entire mass-media is in your favour and repeats your lies and misinformation, you cannot lose.

  13. DrakeN

    The emphasis on Sooty Morriscum is misdirected.
    Much more attention needs to be paid to whose hand is up whose nether regions, manipulating them in much the same manner as the general, and equally gullible general public is being consistently misled.

    In my observations, the focus needs to be shone intensely onto the puppet masters.

    We have been/are being/and will continue to be ‘conned’.

  14. Harry Lime

    Getting rid of the desiccated prune and his country destroying trash sheets would be a necessary first move.Banning lobbyists from access to politicians and next,limiting and severely policing donations(hello Gladys of the PLA), With these things in place, we would not end up with self serving tossers like Bullshit Boy.It would also be beneficial to fully and properly fund public education to reduce the number of effwits that never learned to think.But first, we need to hound this embarrassing cockwomble out of office.

    (hello red

  15. Green Voter

    I agree, Morriscum hasn’t changed. The foolish people who voted for him are far more dangerous. If you can’t see through the lies and propaganda at election time, we will keep on getting what the majority voted for.

  16. Henry Rodrigues

    There’s one common thread that connects Scummo Trump, Boris, Bolsonaro, Modi, Putin and the future king of Saudi Arabia. ????

    Fossil fuels, its production and the profits that flow from it.

    And the facilitator, coordinator and enabler ?????

    The crinkled scrote, Murdoch and the MSM.

  17. paul walter

    Would have been better if someone had caught him trying kiss a baby.

  18. Anarchy rules

    Beware of smoko’s hugs , remember when he huged Turnbull telling all who could see that he was his prime minister . Before you could say Jack Robertson smoko had his job . His hug is comparable to a kiss from Judas both a precursor of ones doom .

  19. totaram

    Green Voter: The “foolish people” who voted for (Morrison ‘s government, not him, by backing LNP candidates in Queensland) are simply brainwashed. If you are subjected to propaganda 24/7 and wall-to-wall, it is very hard to resist unless you have already thought about things in a very detailed way. For most ordinary people, who are just trying to get on with their lives and put food on the table, this is hard. I can attest to that, because until I retired, I had no idea what was really going on. I actually used to get my information from the “newspapers”. I realised that the Murdoch papers were not reliable and switched to Fairfax, but now even that is owned by the oligarchs. What’s left? Only “alternative sites”, like this one, if you have the time and energy to find them. Most people just can’t be bothered.

    We now have a “Ministry of Truth”, as depicted in 1984, except that it is privately owned, and works in favour of the owners of “big capital”. Until this beast can be overcome, there is no hope for the likes of you and me.

  20. totaram

    I keep forgetting: What do you mean by “warning signs of low eq and failed leadership”?

    Warning signs, really?
    Why did you want this person to have EQ? He is the perfect person to carry out the IPA agenda! You don’t want some guy with EQ who loses his nerve when he sees the harm he is doing to ordinary people!

    What do you mean by failed leadership? Who is he supposed to lead?
    He is doing very well, leading the party in support of the oligarchs and multinational crooks as they rip this country off. What is failing about this?

    I think many people are confused about the role of this government and its members. They keep thinking that somehow this government is supposed to work for “all Australians”. The government want you to believe that, but if you do, you are the sucker! Once you are clear about their role, you will never come up such nonsensical headlines.

    Really, I am tired of pointing this out, time and time again. Please try to maintain logical clarity. It helps.

  21. Dennis Bauer

    Totaram, has it spot on. I also reckon the Prime Minister is working for the right wing evangelicals American Churches who I am sure have a lot of input into the IPA, he may smirk, but have a look at a few pictures of him and trump, smirk? no way, complete admiration.
    Most Australian voters, are up at 6am go to work, home at 5 or 6pm have a dinner and watch TV, not a lot of scope to keep up with how their democary is being taken off them, if your fed half truths and you dont have time to hit the internet and check it out all the time, you will just keep voting for Howard.
    The reincarnations of Howard, different faces and voices, same IPA. Alan Jones and John Laws is still being pumped out on every regional radio across Australia, morning and night. I predicted the LNP would romp home in Queensland last election, I know the coal miners, a simple thing like taking a lump of coal into parliament was brilliant. I worked in mines, and exploration, drilling, I knew a lot of big bosses from Europe, fly over and have a little holiday in the bush, they think the working class in Australia is a joke, gullible and willing to believe what ever the bosses tell them, the things I heard I knew how it was all going to turn out, and it aint going to change. Next election, after the rains come, and its all forgotten, a nice new shiny LNP honest to goodness politician will tell all the usual lies, and get voted in. And a whole heap of lovely technology to pin point the voters, (think Cambridge analytica, finished now but heaps more in their place) any left wing loony thinking doesn’t stand a chance.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/04/cambridge-analytica-data-leak-global-election-manipulation

  22. Brad Black

    Great article. No wonder I hate smoko so much!
    There’s a better than even chance he’s blown it with his constituents if what I heard in the pub the other night is anything to go by, and I’m about as far removed from the horror as possible in regional WA where every summer I fear those hot, windy north easterlies.

  23. Trish Corry

    Totaram. I mean exactly as it says. His emotional display and behaviours are a warning sign of a leader with low emotional intelligence and by default poor leadership skills. It’s clearly explained. These types are not bumbling and stuff up a bit, they are abject failures and downright dangerous. We can see that clearly right now.

  24. Lambchop Simnel

    He is just Murdoch’s rent boy.

  25. Keith

    Thank you Trish

    When Immigration Minister, Morrison displayed an extreme amount of secrecy a factor he still displays. Extreme secrecy is a quick way to loose trust.

    When Howard was PM a paper was published in the Liberal news letter about conspicuous compassion, it was identified as a human fault in the article. Lack of compassion is a characteristic that runs far in the Liberal Party it would seem. Many in the Liberal Party claim to be Christians, it would seem that compassion is not part of being Christian.

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