Angus Taylor looks like a leader on paper – but the job is bigger than that
Angus Taylor has all the on-paper qualifications to be opposition leader. But what's needed now is a miracle worker to lift the struggling Liberal Party from its existential crisis.
Recent articles in Politics
12 February 2026
Is Hanson planning to copy Trump on mass deportation?
One Nation’s promise to deport 75,000 undocumented migrants echoes Donald Trump’s approach, but the logistics, costs and risks of such a policy are far greater than the rhetoric suggests.
12 February 2026
Message from the Editor-in-Chief
Pearls and Irritations is entering a new phase, with Editor-in-Chief John Menadue stepping back from day-to-day leadership and new appointments strengthening our future.
12 February 2026
Do we really need a Minister for Social Cohesion?
Calls for a new Minister for Social Cohesion reflect anxiety about Australia’s civic health, but risk mistaking rhetorical panic for structural failure – and policy symbolism for effective governance.
12 February 2026
From protest laws to writers’ festivals – Chris Minns overreaches
From protest laws to public commentary on writers and festivals, the NSW premier’s interventions reveal a troubling impatience with dissent and democratic restraint.
12 February 2026
Japan's dramatic election result carries dangers
Japan’s ruling party has secured another overwhelming victory. But beneath the spectacle lies a troubling mix of demographic denial, fiscal illusion and rising geopolitical risk.
12 February 2026
If the roles were reversed, how would the west react?
What would western outrage look like if China, rather than the United States, had carried out decades of military interventions and political interference?
12 February 2026
The Herzog visit and the Israelisation of antisemitism
Inviting Israel’s president to Australia in the wake of the Bondi attack has blurred the line between antisemitism and legitimate criticism of Israel, weakening rather than strengthening social cohesion.
12 February 2026
Cowardice dressed up as authority on Sydney’s streets
The violence surrounding protests against the visit of Israel’s president was not an accident of crowd control. It reflects a deeper political failure – where authority suppresses dissent rather than confronting uncomfortable truths about Gaza, protest rights and democratic responsibility.
11 February 2026
When peaceful protest is allowed to work, democracy works
Melbourne’s mass protest against the visit of Israel President Isaac Herzog showed how large, diverse crowds can assemble peacefully when police exercise restraint and common sense. Sydney’s response points to a deeper failure of judgment about protest, power and democracy.
11 February 2026
Salt, light and the visit of Isaac Herzog
As controversy surrounds the visit of Israel’s president, Frank Brennan reflects on how Australians might respond with moral seriousness, legal clarity and a commitment to justice for all.
11 February 2026
Herzog greeted by mass protest despite limits on marching
Denied permission to march, thousands still gathered in central Sydney to protest the visit of Israel’s president. The demonstration revealed both the scale of public anger and the state’s increasingly fraught response to dissent.
11 February 2026
The Coalition decision that locks the Liberals out of the cities
By returning to Coalition with a declining National Party, the Liberals have doubled down on policies and demographics that alienate urban voters and younger Australians.
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