A cordial hand-shake between 2012 US Presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. But can they build a detente between the Republicans and Democrats for the benefit of their nation and the rest of the world? Picture: Charlie Neibergall/AP Source: AP
DIVISIVE politics doesn't wash with voters, a US lesson Tony Abbott should learn, says Natasha Stott Despoja.
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AUSTRALIAN politics had an international flavour last week.
In Bali, the Prime Minister Julia Gillard held court at the Democracy Forum, even ushering in a new period of camaraderie between Timor Leste and Indonesia. (I hope this extends to Australia playing fairer on the Timor Oil and Gas Treaty).
Ms Gillard was also quick to congratulate President Barack Obama on his historic second term and then was back to greet the departing royals, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, in Canberra.
US figures will dominate the scene this week too. It is reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Adelaide after she dispenses with her responsibilities at the AUSMIN Defence talks in Perth.
Shadow minister Malcolm Turnbull's comments about the US result, specifically the downfall of Republican challenger Mitt Romney and the perils of moving too far to the Right, have been interpreted by some as a thinly veiled attack on Tony Abbott's strategy.
Mr Turnbull said: "You lose the credibility of the middle ground and elections are won in the middle ground."
He was quick to stress that the Liberal Party was concerned with the centre: "We are always a party that is focused on the centre, on the sensible centre". However, recent performances leave us wondering.
Recently, I attended the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes' annual conference, at which Tony Abbott gave a spirited defence on the need to support medical research an area where the Coalition has some brownie points (Backing Australia's Ability, which saw a huge injection into research was a Democrat-Howard government deal).
The recent Labor Budget review saw half a billion dollars worth of cuts/delays to the Sustainable Research Excellence (SRE) program.
Mr Abbott's rhetoric on these issues is more heart-warming than his simplistic efforts about how his party would address energy prices.
Another criticism of the US Republicans was about the need to put out plans and policies earlier.
The poll-driven and populist nature of politics means few MPs, let alone parties, release complex and comprehensive, let alone costed, policies in advance of an election.
It is a problem with all opposition parties currently (including our state Opposition).
At Friday's University of Adelaide's Parliamentary Alumni function, it was old home week.
There does seem to be a disproportionate number of MPs from my alma mater, including the Prime Minister, Finance Minister Penny Wong, Senators Don Farrell and Nick Xenophon, and former Defence Minister Robert Hill, now Chancellor of the University, along with many former leading lights.
I caught up with a former small "l" Liberal Senator who had just returned from his first trip to Canberra since he retired almost two decades ago.
He remarked the behaviour in the Senate was "terrible" and if "we had behaved like that, we would not have been able to show our faces".
He is right. The slow-burn approach watching behaviour regress over the past few years is no match for a direct comparison between now and 15-16 years ago.
He fondly remembered the cross-party relationships, many of which were on show last Friday evening.
It is now clear that the key to progress in the US will be whether President Obama can forge effective working relationships with his Republican colleagues.
Yet another lesson for all in our Parliaments.
>> Natasha Stott Despoja is a former leader of the Australian Democrats and was a South Australian senator from 1995 to 2008.
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