From Malcolm Turnbull to ScoMo: Crisis for the Centre-right in Australia

Abstract

Australia witnessed a change of prime minister in late August 2018, with Scott Morrison replacing Malcolm Turnbull as leader of the Liberal–National Coalition government, even though the initial challenge came from Peter Dutton on the Liberal right. The immediate context was dissatisfaction on the Liberal right with government attempts to implement a new national energy policy. However, there had been long-term discontent from this quarter with Turnbull on the grounds that he was not a ‘true’ Liberal. Morrison as the new prime minister is more to the right than Turnbull but less so than Dutton. Domestically there will be some rightward adjustments in policy but not on a major scale; internat..