‘Tiger by the tail‘, Inside Story, 18 November 2014
Examines the changing social base of the modern Liberal Party, focusing particularly on the increasing influence of the Radical Right.
It was the mid 1990s. Howard and his colleagues had been out of government in Canberra for eleven years, and prime minister Paul Keating had just launched another attack on the “spivs” in the Liberal Party. Howard said he wasn’t sure just what Keating meant by the term, but he did concede that “a different sort of person” had become attracted to the party. These people, he suggested, wanted something rather than wanting to offer something. It was a big difference.
Links also to a related article by Peter Browne. Abjorensen later looked historically at leadership crises in the conservative parties.