Show Notes
What did John Howard understand about survival and self-correction that his six successors never quite grasped? Why do so many of our prime ministers trace their drive back to fiercely ambitious mothers — and what does that pattern tell us about who gets to lead? Is the Liberal Party's current unravelling the price of clinging to the "Howard settlement" long after the country moved on?
Historian and biographer Paul Strangio joins Mark to dissect what makes — and breaks — an Australian prime minister, drawing on his newly shortlisted book The Alchemy of Leadership: Seven Australian Prime Ministers in a Turbulent Twenty-First Century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny
How has the attack on Helen Haines changed the conversation about political violence in Australia? Are the US midterms about to become a referendum on an unpopular president? Could Democrats take the Senate, with Texas, Michigan and Kansas suddenly in play?
Why are Australia's least resilient communities turning to One Nation? What happens when the major parties take their heartland seats for granted? Can Labor's "shallow" 2025 win hold together in 2028?
Is Labor's managerial, middle-of-the-road style a sensible way to steer through rough seas, or does it leave room on the left for someone selling a bigger vision? If Pauline Hanson can do it to the Coalition, can Shoebridge do it to Labor? Or is Australia simply heading for a multi-party era where every seat is marginal?
What are the five forces reshaping Australia's economy and society over the next four decades? What it will take to keep Australians' faith in government alive while managing them? What can younger Australians expect from future governments?
Is too much political capital being put into meaningless foreign policy platitudes rather than defining what modern Australian security looks like? If Australia's shared values with its allies are contradicted can we still rely on those principles to steer policy with them? Can Australia take a globally prominent position in petitioning the US to end the wars that fundamentally threaten Australia's national security?