Frydenberg flirts with political comeback despite past blunders

Former politician Josh Frydenberg put out feelers this week for a possible political comeback while promoting his book, but the so-called grateful son forgot to thank the most important people, writes Belinda Jones.

THIS WEEK we saw former Liberal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg back in the news promoting a book ghostwritten for him by Gideon Haigh.

If the book's blurb is any indication of Frydenberg’s yet-to-be-released ‘candid memoir’, A Grateful Son: An Autobiography, then it should be shelved in the fiction section of bookshops because it doesn’t appear to be an accurate representation of reality.

What is missing are the scandals that dogged his career from a political staffer to his role as the Treasurer and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party before the people of Kooyong elected Dr Monique Ryan in 2022 to replace him.

In a witty exchange between former federal politicians Christopher Pyne and Bill Shorten on ABC’s 7:30 this week about Josh Frydenberg, the duo were asked to consider whether Frydenberg's re-entry into the political scene would be welcomed.

Pyne declared with a straight face:

“I think the Liberal Party needs as many talented people as possible. To stand for parliament, preselection, and to therefore be able to form a government.”

Host Sarah Ferguson asked:

"Bill Shorten, did you enjoy seeing Josh Frydenberg back amongst us?”

Shorten grinned and said:

“I don’t think Josh ever left us.”

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Shorten is right. Frydenberg hasn’t really faded into obscurity. He’s regularly injected himself into political discourse with News Corp op-eds, speeches, and now a media circus over an autobiography he didn’t write. Frydenberg is no shrinking violet.

The blurb for Frydenberg’s book says, ‘there are many ways to lead’ and describes his advocacy against antisemitism as ‘inspiring’, especially after the Bondi tragedy, when ‘he found the words many were searching for.’

This version of history completely forgets to mention that Frydenberg’s emotional and overly political speech after the tragedy was described as an ‘extraordinary escalation of political rhetoric’, and it was squarely aimed at the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.

Despite losing his seat of Kooyong and his former position in federal government, Frydenberg still considers himself a leader. After Bondi, he travelled to Sydney, prepared speech in hand, to deliver a political attack disguised as paying his respects.

This week, in a mainstream media frenzy, journalists pressed Frydenberg for some kind of commitment that he intends to return to politics. Frydenberg just smiled coquettishly and deflected with what almost sounded like a talking point, just like in the old days when he was a politician.

On the eve of the Victorian election and when Angus Taylor’s Liberal Party is polling at extinction level, Frydenberg’s self-promotion reminds voters of the reasons why Liberals lost government.

Despite Frydenberg’s heightened sense of his own self-importance, there’s no chorus of voters calling for his return. Nor does this self-appointed superhero bring anything of substance, like a policy, to aid his Liberal Party cause.

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Frydenberg did suggest the Goods and Services Tax (GST) should be raised, which went down like a lead balloon with a cordial Angus Taylor, who also said he would welcome Frydenberg back.

Taylor said:

“We will not be raising the GST in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. That we won’t do.”

Taylor’s lukewarm reception is inconsistent with Frydenberg’s own image of himself, and the destiny he feels was taken from him by ‘bitter Teals’ .

His language, his refusal to surrender the limelight and his ego all point to another tilt at politics. Not for the people of Kooyong, but for himself.

In a recent op-ed, Frydenberg criticised the Liberal Party:

‘We have become obsessed with who is leading us rather than with who could be voting for us. State divisions are crippled by infighting, an ageing membership is in decline, and our party’s campaigning capability has not kept up with technology.’

That’s not a ringing endorsement of Angus Taylor’s leadership by any stretch of the imagination.

Yet both men share the common affliction of their shared history; voters are all too familiar with their previous poor performances in the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison Governments.

Of course, Frydenberg’s list of political faux pas began long before he lost his seat in 2022. He was first embroiled in controversy while working in John Howard’s office over a leak to the press.

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As Environment Minister, Frydenberg was also embroiled in controversies over the Toondah Harbour development, the Grasslands saga involving Angus Taylor’s connection to alleged damage to native grasslands and his infamous stoush with Jay Weatherill over renewable energy policy.

Perhaps Frydenberg’s memory of the intricacies of his own political career has faded over time.

He must’ve forgotten the number of times he objected to holding a banking royal commission, or the tension that could be cut with a knife the day Commissioner Kenneth Hayne handed down his findings and recommendations, many of which Frydenberg rejected.

Frydenberg’s memory of being embroiled in the Chinese election signs, a complaint from Scouts and Guide Dogs election controversies wasn’t raised at all this week while promoting his book. No one asked him about that time when he was Treasurer and miscalculated The Budget by $60 billion.

Nobody mentioned the time he mocked Hindus in Parliament, something he would vehemently object to if another politician mocked his religion.

News pundits didn’t mention Frydenberg’s dirty-tricks campaigning when he shared an anecdote about Ryan’s mother-in-law at his campaign launch, breaching longstanding campaigning traditions of not bringing family members into the political contest.

Importantly, Frydenberg’s failure to implement any clawback measures on COVID JobKeeper payments didn’t get a mention this week. That blunder saw $38 billion go to businesses, some with billionaire owners, who later proved ineligible for JobKeeper.

The people of Kooyong weren’t mentioned either. His former constituents. You know the ones whose vote he’ll need should he decide to stand at the next federal election; they didn’t even get a look-in this week. Not even a thank you from a so-called grateful Kooyong son.

If Josh Frydenberg is Christopher Pyne’s, or any Liberal’s, definition of “talent”, then the Liberal Party has far more structural problems than it is willing to admit. Let alone be able to navigate, identify, acknowledge and fix before 2028.

Belinda Jones is an IA assistant editor, a former teacher and federal political candidate. You can follow Belinda Jones on Twitter/X @belindajones68.