Quarterly Essay 47 Political Animal

Tony Abbott is the most successful Opposition leader of the last forty years, but he has never been popular. Now Australians want to know: what kind of man is he, and how would he perform as prime minister?In this dramatic portrait, David Marr shows that as a young Catholic warrior at university, Abbott was already a brutally effective politician. He later led the way in defeating the republic and, as the self-proclaimed political love child of John Howard, rose rapidly in the Liberal Party. His reputation as a head-kicker and hard-liner made him an unlikely leader, but when the time came, his opposition to the emissions trading scheme proved decisive. Marr shows that Abbott thrives on chaos and conflict. Part fighter and part charmer, he is deeply religious and deeply political. What happens, then, when his values clash with his need to win? This is the great puzzle of his career, but the closer he is to taking power, the more guarded he has become. Since witnessing the Hewson catastrophe at first hand, Abbott has worn a mask. He has grown and changed. Life and politics have taught him a great deal. But how this has shaped the fundamental Abbott is carefully obscured. What has been abandoned? What is merely hidden on the road to power? What makes people so uneasy about Abbott is the sense that he is biding his time, that there is a very hard operator somewhere behind that mask, waiting for power. David Marr, Political AnimalWinner of the 2013 John Button Prize This is no character assassination. Marr is not afraid to praise Abbott in places and respects his political skills and intelligence. Michael McGuire, The Advertiser David Marr is as brilliant a biographer and journalist as this country has produced. Peter Craven, Australian Spectator If you want to hit a man where it hurts, hit him in the groin. David Marr doesn t miss in his Quarterly Essay profile. Chris Wallace, Canberra Times