Arrogance and Pride: The Downfall of Malcolm Turnbull

Malcolm Turnbull only lost the recent spill by one vote and watching his interview with Laurie Oakes on the Sunday program before the spill it is easy to see why he lost. Malcolm Turnbull basically turned into a quasi member of the Government. He could have been reading off the Labor Party talking points. He accuses Senator Nick Minchin of being a "denier" and ridicules his position of not believing in anthropogenic climate change. He even begins to (before pulling himself back) criticise John Howard as an autocratic leader.

How did he think that by ridiculing and abusing the powerful members of the Liberal Party including their revered former Prime Minister he could hold on to the levers of power? Although a lot of the punches thrown landed, this had the effect of emboldening the right and resulted in his own downfall. He did make some very salient point though. Sen. Nick Minchin (and as it turned out) Tony Abbott set the party up for the spill and are responsible for the turmoil that the Liberal party now faces. I believe that their current "do nothing" approach will hurt them at the polls. Especially if the rest of the world begins to make cuts. I think with Tony Abbott at the helm and Nick Minchin behind the curtain pulling the strings the Liberal Party will become as Malcolm so bluntly put it "a fringe party of the far right."

But could all of this have been avoided? Had Malcolm Turnbull chosen instead to vote down the legislation, not on the basis of being a denier but on the basis of waiting for a "worldwide coordinated approach" after Copenhagen. He initially used the line of waiting to see what the world would do but was bluffed by the talk of a double dissolution election. Mr Turnbull appeared so scared of going to an early election that he pushed for the passing of the legislation to his own political peril. From the time of his now infamous statement "I'm asserting my authority as leader" to his less than conciliatory announcement of the party rooms decision Malcolm Turnbull was on a borrowed time with a deeply divided party.

Malcolm Turnbull's pride stopped him from changing his position when the numbers didn't look favourable and his arrogance thought he could run roughshod over the more powerful members of the party. It remains to be seen what he intends on doing from here. There is a Lathamesk feel to his mudslinging in order to destroy at any cost his opponents but one thing remains certain, Malcolm Turnbull is not going to go quietly.