The following letters appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald on Nov 16th.
In the dying days of the Wentworth byelection, our current Prime Minister hurriedly announced a plan to move our Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, in a cynical attempt to buy votes from the Jewish community (“PM clears way for embassy retreat“, November 15).
This clumsy, ill-conceived move endangered a free-trade agreement with our neighbour Indonesia, so the “less than 5 per cent chance of an embassy move” backflip has now occurred.
This latest policy turnaround comes on top of the Foodbank funding reversal and the retirement age backflip. Does this dinky-di, you bewdy Prime Minister ever put his brain into action before opening his mouth? – Bill Young, Greenwich
Who would have thought it? Morrison is reconsidering moving the embassy.
You may say the original thought bubble was a blatant vote-seeking move that everyone in Wentworth could see through and was always going to be cancelled after the election. I couldn’t possibly say that. – Paul Stevens, North Epping
Politicians do resort to backflips to save their skin and regain their seats in the next election.
Modus operandi is to unleash the policy, wait and watch the degree of uproar it generates. If it’s disastrous, the backflip happens by saying, “We have listened to you”. In recent times, backflips to backflips have become popular too.
And, now, the new and innovative backflip: an announced policy with “less than 5 per cent” chance of proceeding, called a fumbled backflip, because it’s neither here nor there. – Muthukrishnan Srinivasan, Riverview
The PM is unconvincing in maintaining that our proposed trade deal with Indonesia was a completely separate issue from the possible move of Australia’s Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.
Morrison’s announcement was a “captain’s call”, without taking advice from foreign policy advisers, and his decision to consider scrapping decades of bipartisan foreign policy has made him look amateurish.
It’s time for Morrison to relax and be natural, instead of role playing the typical Aussie beer-loving, sporty male, which comes across as just as panicky as the embassy thought bubble.
His reasons for the backdown on the move to Jerusalem will be interesting pre-Christmas reading. – James Moore, Kogarah
When will PM Morrison stop shooting from the hip? Surely it’s time to stop eating meat pies and begin calmly thinking important issues through to a good conclusion. – John Golden, Newport
The PM’s refusal to come clean over his retreat on moving our Israel embassy to Jerusalem to secure a trade deal with Indonesia will spell his future political demise.
Morrison’s gross error of judgement proves beyond any reasonable doubt his unfitness to lead our nation’s democracy in the 21st century. – Vincent Zankin, Rivett (ACT)
Morrison has told Indonesia that he will make a decision about the embassy by Christmas. Read “an announcement will be buried on Christmas Eve”. – Ian Kerr, Galston