A few months ago I wrote an article during the devastating bushfire season – which seems like a lifetime ago now. I spoke of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s handling of the crisis, and how his credibility and branding took a huge hit due to numerous factors. I remember at the time, you couldn’t turn on the news without someone critiquing his leadership, slamming his appearances in affected communities, and going as far as to say he should resign. I spoke of how quickly losing credibility can occur and how it can take years to build and rebuild a strong personal brand.
6 months later, and in the middle of one of the largest financial and health crises this country and the world has seen, the Prime Minister has just recorded the highest approval rating of any Prime Minister in the past decade.
Now while it’s easy to question the validity of Newspoll, especially after the cataclysmic failings of the tool prior to last year’s national election, the fact that the PM has a 32 percentage point lead over the opposition leader is a phenomenal feat, particularly given his dire position 6-months ago.
So how has the PM turned this around? During the last crisis, he was practically vilified, but since then he has learnt and learnt quickly and hasn’t let this crisis go to waste. In my opinion, it comes down to two key factors: bipartisanship expertise and consistent communication.
Bipartisanship Expertise
If there’s one thing Australian’s don’t like, it’s political bickering of seemingly trivial matters. During the past few months, there has been a much stronger bipartisan approach to solutions, backed up even more so by implementing measures directly recommended by subject matter experts across the country. The fact that Covid-19 policy decisions are being led by the national cabinet definitely assist here, but the Prime Minister has played to his strengths by letting industry experts lead the charge, albeit this often isn’t the case with other matters which aren’t health-related. You can see a stark difference between countries which haven’t implemented directives to the full standard that has been recommended and the backlash on their leaders.
The Prime Minister has been able to resurrect his credibility by outsourcing his credibility and get experts to shape the path for the nation. This is a trait of all good leaders; to trust those around you to know their job and know what is required of them. The PM has almost been able to let others be the face of the fight against the pandemic, while still being consistently present and leading from the front. This has bolstered his credibility and helped restore and improve his brand.
Consistent Communication
A trait of all good leaders is consistent and regularly communication and this has been done excellently over the past 3 months. In the early days of the pandemic, we became accustomed to regular updates almost on a daily basis regarding new restrictions and developments. Once more of a routine started, it became Tuesday’s, Friday’s and Sunday’s. Now it’s often just the weekly update on Sunday. People became familiarised with regular information and knowing what the latest updates were. In virtually all these conferences, the PM was accompanied by Dr. Murphy. This gave reassurance that the information conveyed was coming directly from some of the smartest minds in the country.
I honestly believe that one of the best signs that the PM has improved his branding, is that no one is talking about his performance during the crisis. This is a result that you want as a leader, not to be seen as an individual, but to have positive team results (or in this case national results). While the country still has a long way to go with this crisis, and many will be eagerly perched to see the results of this weekend’s byelection, it’s interesting to see some of the key aspects that can change and improve an individual’s popularity.