Anthony Albanese says we need to turn down the temperature. Politicians must show leadership, social media must take responsibility, Australians must think about how we treat one another.
All fair enough.
But there is something missing from this growing list of instructions: a serious reckoning with why it is that so many people have stopped listening to politicians in the first place.
When your word means nothing, or very little, eventually neither do your appeals for better behaviour.
People lose faith in politicians when promises are treated as election accessories, packed away once the votes are counted. Or when straight up questions produce anything but straight answers.
When accountability is something demanded of opponents but dodged by those in power, the public just rolls its eyes in disgust.
Do all of that often enough and distrust spreads beyond the person whose trust ratings have already dropped into the toilet. People start questioning the parliament, the government and the institutions that are supposed to serve them.
All of us become susceptible to the argument that the whole thing is an insiders racket, operated by people who look after themselves while piously lecturing everyone else.
Albanese says we need to ‘turn down the temperature’, but PVO argues we must first understand why so many people have stopped listening to politicians in the first place
Then along comes a politician telling us all to calm down. One who has well and truly broken their bond of trust with voters. How does anyone imagine that’s likely to land?
I wonder if Albo understands that’s where he’s led us to?
For many it sounds like another instruction from someone who considers himself exempt from the standards he imposes on others.
It can even aggravate the very anger it’s meant to ease. People who already feel deceived are unlikely to appreciate being told that the urgent problem is the manner in which they express their dissatisfaction.
None of this excuses threats, abuse or violence, obviously. Responsibility for violence rests with those who commit it. Nor should anyone pretend we already know what motivated the horrific attack on Helen Haines. Eve if the Prime Minister may have jumped the gun in real time, rushing to judgement.
But if the PM wants a broader discussion about declining trust and rising anger, the behaviour of governments (especially his own) belongs near the top of the agenda.
Victorian Liberal leader Jess Wilson makes a useful point: restoring confidence requires changing how governments behave, as well as how politicians speak.
Exactly.
Victorian Liberal leader Jess Wilson makes a valid point that restoring confidence requires changing how governments behave, not just how politicians speak, PVO writes
Political editor Peter Van Olsen says leaders must rebuild trust and confidence in politicians to restore their credibility
A broken promise delivered softly is still a broken promise. An evasive answer offered politely is still an evasive answer. A smear circulated discreetly is still a smear.
Albo might reflect on this last point before his next lecture about respectful debate.
His office circulated insinuations about Haines’s integrity after she questioned funding for his local golf club. His response when challenged was to portray the document as recognition of her standing up for her electorate.
Where’s the truth in that? It’s insulting to everyone’s intelligence.
Leaders need credibility when they ask people to accept difficult decisions, trust institutions or show restraint. They spend that credibility every time they duck responsibility or pretend words mean something other than what everyone heard.
Rebuilding it takes more than a solemn speech. Keep your promises, answer questions, admit mistakes, apply the standards you preach to yourself.
Trust can’t just be summoned for a crisis after being squandered for political convenience.
