Fed: A year is a long time in politics

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Fed: A year is a long time in politics

By James Grubel, Chief Political Correspondent

CANBERRA, April 5 AAP - In early 1998, Meg Lees invited a few friends, colleagues andreporters to a lunch to mark her first 12 months as leader of the Australian Democrats.

It was a celebration of the fact she had managed to hold the party together for a yearafter the dramatic resignation of Cheryl Kernot, who quit in 1997 to join the ALP.

But the lunch was also a chance to relax and speak openly about the party's past, presentand future.

This weekend, Senator Lees' replacement Natasha Stott Despoja will mark her first anniversaryas leader.

But there are no public celebrations planned, and certainly no long lunches with membersof the Canberra press gallery.

One year into the job, and Senator Stott Despoja maintains a more arms-length, andsometimes prickly relationship, with the political media.

That is partly a result of the experience of a turbulent 12 months, and a steep learningcurve for a leader who has set about turning her party into a third force in politics.

Young, photogenic and with tonnes of energy, Senator Stott Despoja was elected leaderon April 6 last year in a move many members believed would reinvigorate the party aheadof a federal election.

Her move against Senator Lees was fuelled by poor results in the Queensland and WestAustralian state elections early last year, where the growth in protest votes went toGreen and One Nation candidates.

It was also driven by discontent from some members over the Democrats' decision todo a deal on the GST - a deal which Lees supporters point out guaranteed no GST on freshfood.

The new leader was endorsed by a nationwide postal ballot of the Democrats membershipand immediately declared her party would be a force at the looming federal election.

A year on, and the results have not been as spectacular as Senator Stott Despoja, orher supporters, would have hoped.

The federal election did not go well.

Faced with a polarised campaign which focused on illegal immigration, the Democratscampaign theme of Change Politics, and the push to attract first-time voters, failed towin votes.

The campaign further suffered from a Democrats preferences deal which favoured Laborin marginal seats, while former leader John Coulter publicly quit the party in the finaldays of the campaign.

The Democrats suffered a minor swing and Senator Stott Despoja could do nothing butwatch as votes who deserted the ALP in droves threw their support behind Greens candidates.

Then in South Australia, Senator Stott Despoja's home state, the party's support slumpedfrom more than nine per cent to about 7.3 per cent in the 2002 state election.

In many ways, Senator Stott Despoja's problems began with her election.

Under Democrats rules, the leadership is decided by the wider membership and not theelected Senators.

So Senator Stott Despoja won the leadership with many of her team still firmly supportingSenator Lees.

A year on, and it remains unclear how much support Senator Stott Despoja has in the party room.

As late as last weekend, her deputy leader Aden Ridgeway publicly mused about whetherthe party made a mistake by moving against Senator Lees.

But for the time being, Senator Stott Despoja's leadership is secure and there is nosign that any Democrats senators want to challenge her.

Instead, there is a sense that Democrats senators want to show more solidarity andwork with Senator Stott Despoja to turn around the party's fortunes.

Senator Stott Despoja openly admits the past year has had its problems.

"It has been a tough year, a challenging year," she said.

"The members believed I could ameliorate the damage done as a consequence of the GSTamong our core constituents. Our research tells us they were right.

"Our challenge now is to move forward as a determined and united party.

"It is time to put aside petty differences and bitterness and work for the good of the party."

She is backed by focus group research from South Australia, which examined why Democratsvoters deserted the party at the state election.

According to the research from two weeks ago, Senator Stott Despoja was universallyadmired as a leader, while the media was criticised for not giving her a better go.

And, the research says, the 1998 GST deal with the government remains a major issue.

"Most felt that the GST deal was a betrayal of Democrat policy and promises," it says.

But for now, the Democrats are midway through a major review of policies and direction.

AAP jg/daw/ns/de e

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