Seen as tricky, mean and unwilling to keep his promises, the Australian leader has been under pressure recently to resign. To stem the criticism, Abbott offered a few olive branches: more consultation with his colleagues, more control over foreigners buying in to the property market in Australia’s major cities and a crackdown on Islamic groups sympathetic to ISIS.
Throughout, however, he made it clear he was staying put.
Broken promises
Since his election in September 2013, Abbott has accumulated more critics than supporters. A litany of broken promises and a stalled budget have left his achievements looking parlous.
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Given the frenzy of anger and disappointment unleashed against Abbott over the past week, and the anticipation attached to Monday’s appearance, it was clear the prime minister would never be able to achieve the bar set for him.
In the end, he did all that he could do.
He begged his colleagues to stick with him and warned Australians that, if they followed Queensland (and before it Victoria, which also recently turfed out a conservative government), they’d face the re-introduction of a carbon tax. Wiping it from the statute books, he says, has saved the average Australian household $500 a year.
It might sound glib to assert that $500 a year is all that stands between Tony Abbott, Prime Minister and Tony Abbott, washed up politician. But given his nemesis Turnbull has long advocated action on climate change, it’s truer than it sounds.
