Don’t know if you’ve heard, but recently Australia had an election.
Bill Shorten, like many a NSW Origin player, was thumped by Queensland. The former Labor leader’s pitch to restructure the economy and tackle climate change head on was met with the irrefutable political rebuttable of “yeah, nah”.
On election night, Shorten vowed to step aside as Labor leader and let a new generation take the helm. Turns out, a new generation looks like the same bloke he beat six years ago for the job. However, Bill isn’t leaving Canberra just yet and will stay on as the Member for Maribyrnong.
When Anthony Albanese (don’t worry, he can’t pronounce it either) named his Shadow Cabinet, he included Shorten as Shadow Minister for the NDIS and Government Services. Bill, remarkably, is still in the fold.
You’ve got to ask: after losing two elections and being reminded by polls on a weekly basis that Australians just never liked you, why stay? Why not take that sweet pension and get a casual job at Grill’d?
The answer lies in another formerly-embattled pollie, this time from the other side of the aisle: John Howard.
Shocking, right.
Howard was first elected leader of the Liberal Party in 1985 – 11 years before he snagged the top job of PM. In the 1987 federal election, Howard proved he wasn’t as good at running a campaign as he was at running in tracksuits. He lost to Bob Hawke and was dumped as leader in 1989.
It was not until 1995 that, left with few options, the party gave Howard another go. This time, he won and went on to become Australia’s second-longest serving Prime Minister. Cute, isn’t it? The terms ‘Prime Minister’ and ‘longest serving’ in the same sentence. Simpler times.
So what’s Bill thinking? Likely the same thing Howard was in 1989. The leadership is gone for now. But if I put my head down and wait long enough, maybe, just maybe, there’s a path to redemption.
Trends might be on Shorten’s side. As voters in the US and across Europe clamour for big policy ideas, the kind Australia emphatically rejected a few weeks ago, it might be the case that in three, six, even nine years, Aussies are ready to take a chance on a bold platform.
If that time comes, Shorten, like Howard, might just get to say “I told you so”.