The Mirror Game

Lately, my wife and I have become obsessed with sticking little red dots on our fifteen-month old son’s head.  It’s not that we’ve adopted some form of Eastern religion and will soon be dying our clothes orange.  Rather, we’re experimenting to see if our little man has yet achieved a key cognitive developmental milestone.  The test is to place a dot on an infant’s forehead and put them in front of a mirror.  If they see the dot and try to remove it from their forehead, it’s an indication that they have reached a level of consciousness that enables them to recognise their reflection.  It is a simple, but powerful, test of their sense of self.  It is a test that the Australian Labor Party, like my son, would currently fail.

In today’s Sydney Morning Herald, Waleed Aly wrote a terrific op-ed piece entitled, “Labour has lost the plot, and the narrative”.  Aly’s contention, in his own words, is that:

“Labor's problems are not nearly so managerial and technocratic. They are much, much bigger than that. Labor's problem is ideological. It doesn't really mean anything any more, and probably hasn't since Paul Keating lost power in 1996.”

Aly, quite accurately, paints the picture of a Party without identity, purpose and position.  A Party caught halfway between somewhere and somewhere else.  A Party that, in trying to please everyone, pleases no-one.  A Party of tactic, rather than vision.  This is perhaps not a surprise given that the Party is lead by someone who has, since day one, struggled to decide whether she is the “real” version of herself or not.

Oh, thank goodness I'm still here, wasn't sure where I went for a moment...

At the end of his piece, Aly poses the question to the ALP, “What are you?”  Perhaps, the greatest tragedy for the Labor Party, which will now surely be demolished in the September election, is that there is an answer to this question just waiting to be embraced.  But as the Party clings to the mast of its sinking ship, it seems unwilling to take the deep breath and make a calculated leap of faith into the turbulent seas to grab hold of that life-raft.

A big part of the problem for the ALP is that it has spent too long looking in the mirror trying to answer questions like that raised by Aly.  The answer doesn’t lay in the mirror, it lays beyond it in an evolving nexus of the needs and attitudes of the electorate, the opportunity for differentiation and the fundamental principles of the Party.  But it is important to recognise that the principles of a Party are distinct from its history.  This is critical for the ALP, for while its history lays in the labour movement, its future must be elsewhere.  The labour movement no longer provides the electoral strength to justify dominance over the Party.  This does not, however, suggest that the Party abandons labour – rather the engagement with the labour movement occurs through a framework of broader principles.  Representation of the labour movement is an outcome of identity, not its purpose.

In this light, there is a clear space in the Australian political landscape for the ALP.  The Liberal Party has demonstrated a consistent listing to the right on social issues and an unadventurous policy mindset.  It has become the brand of choice for the socially conservative – which, as Aly points out, is a constituency that includes much of the ALP’s old base.  The Greens have attempted to tone down some of the excesses of their position, but have proven to be ineffective as a Party of government or even as a party of influence beyond their “core issues”.  The way is paved for a socially and economically progressive ALP.  An ALP that drives a humanist, social justice agenda through smart economic policy that balances immediate gratification with investment in long-term drivers of social and economic success, such as education and health.  An ALP that, in contrast to the here and now selfishness of the Liberal agenda, can articulate (and deliver) the economic advantages for all of broadening social advancement.  An ALP of evidence-based and innovative policy that seeks to look after people. 

These principles are not distant from the core values of the modern ALP.  They are as relevant now as ever.  They are as distinct now as ever.  They are as powerful as ever.  It is these principles – not history or internal politics – that need to drive the Party.

The biggest challenge for the ALP, however, may not lay in articulating its positioning, but in ensuring that it is organisationally structured and flexible enough to support such principles.  Old power structures, decision-making processes and leadership styles may need to change to create such a vibrant, innovative and smart, but still essentially human, Party.  One thing is as good as certain: whoever takes over the helms of the ALP after the next election will not be wanting for a mandate for change ... [fades to static]