Win or lose, Perrottet has redefined Liberal leadership

“Whichever way you look at it, the NSW Coalition is one of the most liberal, Liberal governments in history,” said David Cross, the CEO of the Liberal-aligned Blueprint think tank. “With some of the most forward-thinking policies on climate change, childcare and other social issues.”

Not working anymore

The standard Liberal playbook is to promise to be tough on finances and foes, whether domestic or foreign. In recent years, the strategy appears to have lost its potency as more female voters have switched to teal, or left-wing candidates.

Warnings from Peter Dutton, then defence minister, about the China threat contributed to the loss of three federal seats (Bennelong, Chisholm and Reid) in the national election last May. Then-Victorian leader Matthew Guy lost a 2018 election vowing to get tough on African gangs.

Even though Perrottet is behind in polls, his 11-year-old government has exceeded expectations this campaign. Minns isn’t as popular as Perrottet, and polls suggest a hung parliament is possible, although the key seats are within the margin of error.

Perrottet campaigned on Thursday in two Liberal seats that might have been considered safe: Drummoyne, which the party holds by 14 per cent, and Ryde, which is on 9 per cent.

The trip showed how, despite Perrottet’s positioning of the party as more feminine-focused, it retains, underneath, its natural Anglo conservatism.

At the Eastwood Shopping Centre on Thursday, four white Liberals, Perrottet, his wife, Helen (a military lawyer), local candidate Jordan Lane (a career Young Liberal) and upper house MP Scott Farlow (a Sydney University lawyer), canvassed voters, who seemed to be almost all of Korean or Chinese heritage.

To become the Liberal nominee, Lane, 28, defeated lawyer Craig Chung, 54, in an internal vote. Chung, who was a Sydney City councillor, agreed to run in Labor leader Chris Minns’ electorate, essentially making him a sacrificial lamb.

On Rowe St, escorted by a Korean drum band, the Liberal foursome briefly visited the Itzsan noodle bar. Surrounded by television cameras, reporters, Liberal Party advisers, police bodyguards and a few curious onlookers, Perrottet engaged in small talk with the staff.

Afterwards, manager Ray Choi said his top concern was the lingering resentment Asian people receive in Australia because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s origin in China. He wouldn’t say who he voted for.

“People hesitate to cough because they feel guilty,” he said. “I don’t think it’s right. We look different but we are ... I am Australian.”

Over in Drummoyne, the party’s candidate is Stephanie Di Pasqua. As the granddaughter of Italian immigrants, the party promotes her as a representative of the seat’s Italian culture.

Her stated professional experience is limited to serving on the local council and as an electorate officer for the existing MP, John Sidoti, who was found corrupt last year by the state’s Independent Commission Against Corruption and kicked out of the Liberal Party. (There was no suggestion that Di Pasqua, who said she had been on leave from Sidoti’s office since January, was aware of any corrupt conduct.)

When a reporter questioned Di Pasqua about her employment with Sidoti, at a short news conference, he was cut off by Perrottet.

If Perrottet loses on Saturday, the only Liberal government left will be in Tasmania. As the party rebuilds nationwide, it may look to the premier’s example, for what he is doing, and what his division is not.