Good afternoon.
There was a whiff of weariness in some corners of parliament this week, as the former treasurer and deputy Liberal leader happily stoked another round of “Josh for Canberra” speculation. With more rumoured comebacks than Oasis, Josh Frydenberg’s latest foray into the national political arena saw him bouncing around TV, radio and podcast interviews to promote his new book, and pointedly refuse to rule out trying to rejoin the parliament.
His book – part family history, part treatise on antisemitism and social cohesion, part political manifesto – is titled A Grateful Son.
But is he also yesterday’s man?
‘The Fryre Festival’
No Liberals we spoke to this week were jazzed about the prospect of Frydenberg’s return, or the distraction it provides. If anyone was happy about his potential return, they were on the government benches.
Albanese joked to Labor’s caucus meeting today that Frydenberg was now the “shadow opposition leader”, claiming “Josh Frydenberg’s priority has always been Josh Frydenberg”. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, claimed his old sparring partner was “stalking” Taylor for the leadership, proclaiming: “Josh Frydenberg thinks the Liberal party is circling the drain.”
One senior Labor source cheekily joked that we should call it “the Fryre Festival”, a reference to the ill-fated and chaotic Fyre Festival in 2017, which had its own short-lived and catastrophic comeback in 2024. Labor sources also helpfully shared around some of the key quotes from Frydenberg’s book and media tour, pointing out his calls for changes to GST, the labour market, and criticisms of the current Liberal trajectory.
Frydenberg is young enough, bright enough and certainly energetic enough to still make a difference in public life. His addition to what is often a tired Coalition partyroom would certainly spice things up, and provide a new weapon in their arsenal.
What problem would Frydenberg solve?
The problems facing the modern Liberal party, under Angus Taylor, are myriad. Its hostile right flank is barracking for Pauline Hanson and One Nation, its centre is still eyeing the teal independents, and Taylor – now eight months into the job – is overseeing a lower primary vote than when Sussan Ley was dumped.
These are all reasons for alarm for the centre-right. It’s just not clear if Frydenberg is the answer. One question echoing around parliament this week was: would he do a better job than Taylor on any of these problems?
I was on the ground at last weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference, and the loudest cheer Hanson got was when she sledged Taylor, saying Australians didn’t want a “smarmy management consultant” replacing Anthony Albanese as prime minister. Would any of those voters more prefer the chairman of investment bank Goldman Sachs, the role Frydenberg currently holds?
Frydenberg could chart a course back to the middle for the Coalition – not chasing its right flank further to the fringe, but setting a mainstream course back toward the centre, where elections in Australia are won.
That would be a decent idea, if you forget how Frydenberg was ejected from parliament in the first place: bundled out in 2022 by Monique Ryan, in the big community independents wave which swept several moderate-ish inner-city Liberals from their seats.
Maybe Frydenberg would be content to return as a loyal soldier under Taylor, serving in an appropriately senior cabinet role. But maybe not. Few think he’d be content sitting on the frontbench instead of the leader’s chair.
The media tour is likely to continue over coming days. The speculation over Frydenberg’s potential comeback will linger even longer – Labor will make sure of it.
You can read my full analysis, as well as the rest of our coverage on The Guardian.
Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
