Following the long and successful run in the provinces ScoMo believes his retiring Finance Minister is ready to take on the world and has nominated him to the prestigious role of Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.He will be remembered for his longevity, but not much else, not through a lack of diligence but because it went with the job.
This is the big one: the OECD is where the real movers and shakers strut their stuff, the ones who don’t need star billing because they have already achieved it on their way to the top. So it would be a giant leap for a man who has never come higher than third in the hierarchy of the Australian coalition.
He has been given recognition and applause – on one memorable occasion he was filmed sharing cigars with one of his many senior colleagues. But Cormann, for all his undoubted talents, has always been the supporting act, the sideman for the lead singer, a step or two behind the Treasurer. The promotion Morrison envisages may well hit the Peter Principle, promoting him past his level of competence.
However the Prime Minister trusts him – he was, after all, a key element in Morrison’s own ascent, through what Morrison’s predecessor Malcolm Turnbull called a betrayal. And during his record term as Finance Minister Cormann has regularly been brought forward as a spokesman for the government in times of need.
He was not particularly eloquent, far from riveting. But he was utterly reliable: he never missed a beat, reinforcing the message, relentless, remorseless and endlessly repetitive, a robotic recitation of coalition talking points.
Over time even his thick Germanic accent was seen to be almost endearing – surely a man struggling with a second (or third, or fourth, or fifth) language had to be sincere – otherwise why would be make the effort? And any way, there was no point in querying him. Cormann was never for turning.
Whether this persistence – stubbornness, some would call it – would be an advantage in the more nuanced and diplomatic ambience of the OECD is yet to be seen. But if he gets the nod – and Morrison for one seems convinced that he will – Cormann will be seen as a winner.
And given our ongoing cultural cringe, he will then be accoladed as another Australian hero – the immigrant Flemish Belgian gardener who rose from the suburbs of Perth to the penthouses of Paris, the little Aussie (well, almost) battler who beat all comers to the very top of the international totem pole.
So roll on the Cormann caravan. He will be remembered for his longevity, but not much else, not through a lack of diligence but because it went with the job. As Finance Minister his role has always been that of Dr No. the guardian of the government vault, the skinflint who retrains and curtails the proposals of his more enthusiastic colleagues.
So publicly at least, Cormann has always been more spin than substance. But that is probably why he has been regarded with such reverence from Morrison and his predecessors and colleagues. After all, isn’t that what this government is all about?
Mungo MacCallum is a veteran political journalist and commentator. His books include Run Johnny Run, Poll Dancing, and Punch and Judy.
mungomccallum@staging-johnmenadue.kinsta.cloud
Comments
9 responses to “Scott Morrison plans to launch Matthias Cormann on to the global stage.”
That infamous photo of Hockey and Cormann with their cigars after a horror budget seems to be a fair summary of the latter. As well, we have had a renaming of a mountain range in Cormann’s WA as the the original name was of a Belgian king who was notorious in his treatment of colonial Africa; indeed the Belgians may have been the worst of the European colonialists in Africa. Will the OECD really want as Secretary-General a person associated with this history? I do hope that DFAT will not be browbeaten into making any effort on behalf of Cormann. Time to learn some lessons from the East Timor fiasco.
Some commentators are saying that his leading role in the coalition’s abysmal climate change policies will cruel his chances, and rightly so.
The OECD takes climate change policy very seriously indeed.
Leon, Europe generally takes climate change seriously and Oz is a laggard. There have even been reports of the British High Commissioner trying to get the government to face up to its responsibilities re climate change, with no luck. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the EU imposing tariffs related to the Oz lack of any effective imposition on carbon.
I would hope there are more competent people then our man with the big cigar who will offer themselves for this position.
The coalition then led by Malcolm Turnbull were not so generous in their support for Kevin Rudd when he was applying for an international position. I don’t think Cormann is suitabl because he is just another in the long line of the coalition’s line up of pious hypocrites. The only ting going for him is that he likes mayo with his chips which suits some European tastes.
Mathias Cormann would make an OK Sec Gen of the OECD. The nest of vipers that is any and all political parties will have given him some training, though whether he’s up to the premier league is moot. His more likely obstacle is less his Belgian heritage than Australia’s current reputation in international organisations generally. On climate, refugees and ODA, not to mention our image as a US acolyte, we do not rank as an obvious choice. With Canada in the race, it’s difficult to see Cormann as a shoe-in.
Don’t think he would be much chop in that job, he’d be lost without someone to write his talking points for him.
He display of blatant hypocrisy with Hockey puffing cigars outside Parliament House after introducing one of the harshest budgets ever is how I remember him along with eye watering expensive VIP flights & Hello World back handers.
I think they will soon find out, to continue with your band analogy, that no one really wants to shag the drummer.
I think Cormann will be a great loss to the Liberal party. There was segment on Insiders, I think it was, with what appeared to be Cormann, after delivering his farewell address in a couple of different languages (he speaks 4), striding down a corridor like a reigning monarch with Scotty scuttling alongside him , making fawning remarks about his valedictory speech, and as he moves past the camera, with the rest of the government trailing behind, Michaela Cash could be heard saying, :”He would be useful ordering in a french restaurant”. His leaving certainly lowers the Coalition IQ, which was already pretty abysmal..
“So it would be a giant leap for a man who has never come higher than third in the hierarchy of the Australian coalition.”
I don’t want to be picky, because I agree with your argument, but assuming the PM and Deputy PM are top dogs, they would be followed by the treasurer. in third place in the hierarchy. Cormann never held any of those roles so the highest I reckon he would come is fourth.