Credlin & Co.: How the Abbott Government Destroyed Itself

Credlin & Co.: How the Abbott Government Destroyed Itself

<i>Credlin was Abbott’s enforcer, his disciplinarian, his counsellor, his brain, his mother. Her strength as a chief of staff was a sign of his weakness as a prime minister: she gave him the option of disengaging. Credlin allowed Abbott to be who he wanted to be: the good bloke, the philosopher, the weekend fire-fighter, the surfer, the orator, the man of action. If Abbott was a natural leader, it could have worked. But he lacked the most important attribute of all: judgement.</i><br /><br />Tony Abbott and his chief of staff, Peta Credlin, ran a brilliant campaign in opposition. But their approach led to disaster in government.<br /><br />When Abbott became prime minister, he and Credlin ruthlessly controlled ministers, backbenchers, the public service and the media. They shut out voices that questioned Abbott’s way. Everything started to unravel.<br /><br /><i>Credlin & Co.</i> is the story of a relationship that determined the fate of a government. It shows in stunning detail the disastrous consequences of power abused, and the broken people left in its wake.<br /><br />Aaron Patrick is the print editor of the <i>Australian Financial Review</i> and author of <i>Downfall: How the Labor Party Ripped Itself Apart</i> (2013).