I don’t think there is anybody out there at the moment who thinks Brendan Nelson is making a good fist of it as Opposition Leader. For some reason, he has found it difficult to command the authority that one expects from a party leader in parliament. On just about every issue worth debating, the Federal Coalition have been all over the shop. The Opposition does not seem to know quite where it stands on industrial relations, besides promising to wait for the government’s legislation and deciding accordingly. It does not know quite where it stands on an apology to the stolen generations, because Nelson seemingly lacks the political capacity to forge a consensus on his own steam. Only now, shamed by the interventions of party heavyweights like Shane Stone, will Nelson’s ragged bunch of independent entities likely fall grudgingly in line behind the position of the Rudd Government.

Malcolm Turnbull must be feeling fairly frustrated right now, as he watches his party and Nelson wobble around like drunken sailors. Unfortunately, when politicians get frustrated they usually end up making mistakes or saying some fairly silly things. In this AAP report (via SMH), Turnbull takes what might have been a decent point to make about the government’s approach to inflation issues and makes a bit of a mess of it. Take for example this “red hot” analogy:

“For a treasurer to complain about economic challenges is like a fireman complaining about fires.”

“That is the job of the treasurer – to manage the economy.”

Well, if the so-called fires were lit (or at least stoked) by the Howard Government after a number of snoozy years at the wheel of the national economy, I don’t think you can really blame the firemen for getting a bit stroppy about it. Turnbull goes on to elaborate on how what Rudd and Swan’s public statements are actually the cause of all the nation’s troubles in this area:

“The problem with Mr Rudd and Mr Swan at the moment is that the language that they are using is so immoderate, so un-measured, it is actually creating economic problems for us,” Mr Turnbull told ABC Radio.

“He (Mr Rudd) is actually creating or exacerbating an inflation problem.”

Err… of course! It’s not the economy, stupid, its Rudd’s big mouth, stupid. How silly of us. Sadly for Malcolm, I wouldn’t advise anyone to hold their breath waiting for Glenn Stevens from the RBA to describe Rudd and Swan’s use of language as a major factor driving up inflation. Now on the one hand, I do think there is a good argument to be made asserting that Rudd and Swan should moderate their language in relation to inflation issues. There is certainly no need to (further) frighten the horses, although to be honest I don’t think their use of language has really gotten out of control in the way that Turnbull seems to be suggesting. However, to assert as Turnbull does that the Rudd Government is actually creating an inflation problem by making a series of high-level, generally accurate observations about the situation, is an absurdity. In short, it is a sign that the Opposition is in a real spot of bother. Presently, if there is any blame to be worn locally for the domestic economic situation, it lies squarely with the Coalition. This will change over time, of course, as the Rudd Government’s history in office grows, but for the time being at least, the government is effectively untouchable on economic issues.

When on considers the situation, what with Nelson creating chaos in the leadership, and the mouths of the Opposition gaffer-taped shut on economic issues thanks to the wastefulness of the Howard team over the last couple of terms, I’m not surprised our old friend Malcolm seems to be losing the plot.