Perspective: You only get one chance to make a first impression. The Prime Minister, for much of Australia, blew his, writes Peter Hartcher
He wasn't around to meet Scott Morrison, but the 19th-century French democrat Alexandre Ledru-Rollin captured his early prime ministerial style: ''There go the people – I must follow them, for I am their leader."
Since then, he has worked hard to get active. The fire-fighting effort in which he was previously uninterested he has now designated as worthy of a full parliamentary day of tribute. Morrison has announced that the volunteer firefighters and emergency personnel, many of whom felt overlooked by their federal government, are now to get medals.
Australia has had an enormous infusion of renewable energy investment under way, but it has stalled. Large-scale renewable energy investment has halved, from $10.7 billion in 2018 to $4.5 billion last year, according to the Clean Energy Council."The renewable energy industry no longer needs subsidies," the council's chief executive, Kane Thornton says, "but investors need some level of certainty.
Well, everyone in Australia knows Morrison now. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Morrison, for much of Australia, blew his.
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