Angus Taylor Is Not the Answer

Every time the Liberal Party collapses into crisis, a familiar ritual begins. The insiders whisper about a “safe pair of hands”. The commentators float a “serious economic mind”. The establishment rallies behind a man they insist can restore order.

This time, that man is Angus Taylor.

But scratch beneath the surface and the myth collapses quickly. Taylor is not a reset. He is not a revival. He is not even a risk. He is continuity dressed up as renewal, the managerial face of a political class that has already failed.

Taylor’s story is not the story of grassroots conservatism. It is the story of elite formation. King’s College Parramatta. Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. Partner at McKinsey, the corporate bureaucracy famous for managing systems, not leading movements. A career advising governments and global institutions, not fighting for ordinary Australians.

This matters. Because the Liberal Party’s crisis is not technical. It is cultural and political. The party did not lose voters because it lacked spreadsheets. It lost voters because it lost conviction, clarity and courage. Replacing one managerial figure with another does not rebuild a base. It confirms the base was never understood in the first place.

Taylor’s defenders say he is a conservative. The record tells a more complicated story. As Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister, he embedded Australia deeper into the architecture of net zero, endorsing a 2050 target and advancing the long-term emissions reduction framework. This was dressed in the language of “technology not taxes”, but the practical effect was the same. It bound Australia to the global climate policy structure and normalised the very framework many conservative voters reject.

For a party trying to reconnect with working families struggling with power prices and economic insecurity, this is not trivial. It signals alignment with the same policy consensus that voters believe has already failed them.

Then came COVID. Taylor was not the loudest voice during that era, but he stood beside Scott Morrison who was endorsing the logic of lockdown compliance. Literally. As Morrison declared support for lockdowns and vaccines at press conferences, Angus stood alongside him and nodded. And no wonder. This was the language of managerial governance. Along with that, Angus did indeed praise the dangerous AstraZeneca vaccine. But for the most part, he didn’t say much about COVID overreach. For a large section of conservative voters who felt abandoned during that period, silence and acquiescence still carry political weight.

On immigration, Taylor again reveals the instincts of a technocrat rather than a political leader. He emphasises Australia as a “proud immigrant nation” and speaks in percentage reductions rather than firm caps. The language is cautious, calibrated and careful. But politics is not an economics seminar. Voters who believe migration levels are too high are not looking for calibration. They are looking for clarity.

The same pattern repeats in his performance as economic spokesman. When the Coalition needed a compelling economic narrative, it produced little more than bureaucratic restraint and thin policy. Even internal critics noted the lack of boldness. If Taylor could not define the economic fight from opposition, why should anyone believe he can redefine the party from leadership

There is also a revealing glimpse into Taylor’s political instincts that many voters will remember. During the 2019 election campaign, he accidentally posted praise to his own Facebook page (presumably because he had a fake account he was meant to post it from), congratulating himself for his own announcement. The episode was quickly deleted, but the symbolism lingered. A politician speaking to himself rather than listening to others is not the image of a leader rebuilding a movement.

And then there is the question of political instinct more broadly. The “TACO” label circulating within Liberal ranks, Taylor Always Chickens Out, is not just factional cruelty. It reflects a deeper perception of hesitation and caution. Leadership, particularly in a broken party, demands decisiveness. The current moment is not a management challenge. It is a political confrontation. Caution rarely inspires revival.

The deeper problem is this. Taylor represents the same governing class that presided over the party’s decline. A technocratic elite, comfortable with global frameworks, cautious on cultural fault lines, managerial in crisis, and distant from the grassroots. Installing him as leader would not mark a new chapter. It would confirm the same story continues.

Nor is Sussan Ley the answer. The crisis of the Liberal Party is bigger than personalities. It is a crisis of identity. Voters do not know what the party stands for, and too often, neither does the party itself. Swapping one establishment figure for another does not solve that problem.

The Liberal Party does not need a manager. It needs a conviction politician who understands why voters walked away. It needs clarity on energy, sovereignty, migration and civil liberty. It needs connection with the base, not comfort within the system.

Angus Taylor may be a capable administrator. He may be intelligent, disciplined and experienced. But the moment demands more than competence. It demands renewal.

And continuity, no matter how polished, is not renewal.

“The Australian Government is firmly committed to getting to net zero as soon as possible and preferably by 2050.”
– Angus Taylor as Energy Minister