Jonestown politics:Tony takes the chalice

The Liberal party sealed its fate today, when it elected Tony Abbott to lead it, by a single vote.

This was, certainly, the worst group decision taken anywhere since November 18, 1978, when Jim Jones led 900 of his followers – and 9 unlucky-by-standers in a mass suicide, in Jonestown Guyana.

Not because Tony Abbott, himself, is bad man. Or even unelectable.

Far from it.

But he came to power fronting a small, but now triumphant, group of climate change deniers, led by the former Liberal Senate Leader, Nick Minchin.

And he  owes his ascension to that, thoroughly unelectable, group.

A senior Liberal, Ian Macfarlane, warned last night that the Liberals could not win the next election, without a credible climate change policy.

Mr Macfarlane, himself, had invested heavily in that idea.  He had negotiated changes to the Labor party’s proposed emissions trading scheme which both the former Liberal Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, and the parliamentary Liberal party, itself, endorsed.

That caused Nick Minchin, who is often called the black prince, to revolt.

He declared that neither he – nor his friends – are convinced that human activity is producing dangerous climate change.

One of his liutenants, Eric Abetz, is optimistic about the politics, too.

Abetz told a radio interviewer today, that people are often surprised at how quickly political parties can recover from such events.

An opinion poll, published just last week, though, showed that Australians regard climate change as the most urgent environmental issue, that the nation now faces.

Decisions, like that taken today, do have consequences.

The Liberals have given the Prime Minister the trigger for an early double dissolution election.

Mr Rudd will be sorely tempted.

Australians are deeply worried about the implications of climate change.

Scientists say there is good reason for that.

The Liberals, though, have just declared that, as far as they are concerned, climate change doesn’t exist.

Harold Wilson once famously said that “A week is a long time in politics.”

No-one, who has watched events in the Liberal party, over the past week, could doubt that.