Its much too difficult to explain Conservatism in 350 words, especially to those who are determined to misunderstand it. I'll leave it to the great GK Chesterton to give an inkling as to the views of the truly conservative....

"There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, ‘I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.’ To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: ‘If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it."

I suspect most 'progressives' won't understand that.

And like AJ they think that they win when the fence is torn down and then themselves become conservatives when it becomes clear that it needs to be rebuilt.

The excesses of the progressives usually require a 'conservative' to fix them. The Great Society 'reforms' need a Reagan to fix the mess. The welfare state yields a Thatcher.
The mindless education 'reforms' of the past 50 years are now being unwound as the reformers suddenly but belatedly understand what the fence was for.

Bernadi will fail because he's too decent. You need an a...hole to defeat the great leftist me-too herd. We will (probably) eventually get our Trump, Farage or Le Pen. Or maybe not. Maybe our decline will go unopposed and the next few decades will be,for Australia, a fight over the scraps.

What au needs is middle road politics, not one way or the other. The likes of Abbott he is clearly in the wrong party. His agenda was hard right politics.

Bernadi party is completely unknown as to policy. So any comment is only fairy tale.
Australia is not hard left or hard right, it is cut 50: 50 down the middle. Any party that removes themself from that is short lived.

I can explain Conservatism in two words, GREED and FEAR. One is the greed of the minority, who instill fear into the majority.

GK Chesterton, also said; "The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." That was in 1917, a rather cynical observation for that time. Considering it was said during one of the most horrific and destructive wars in history, maybe Chesterton could have said something like; "If progressive liberalism had reigned over Europe, instead of this intractable conservatism the world could have avoided this catastrophic war". just as it could have avoided the great depression and WWII.

Reagan and Thatcher, history has judged that pair of fools, and it has not been kind.

"eventually get our Trump, Farage or Le Pen. Or maybe not" we can only hope not!

mhaze,

I agree that “.... most 'progressives' won't understand that”, but there is quite a lot that they don't understand, isn't there?

Toni Lavis, better know for his foul mind than his intellect, said “Isn't accepting the same old same old and avoiding change what conservatism is all about?”, totally unwitting of the fact that, for at least the last decade, the 'same old same old” that has gripped Australia and the rest of the West has been 'progressive' dogma. So, it could be said that they are the real conservatives, fearing change.

I agree that Bernadi is unlikely to set the world on fire, or to have very much success at all. Your cannot be a 'nice guy' and beat the Left, which does not play by any rules, and will do whatever it takes to win.

The Leftist Turnbull has squeezed any spirit that the Coalition had left out of it, and now we have a looming Left takeover by Labor in a couple of years.

I can't wait to see just how Labor manages without the huge surplus they have been granted each time they overthrew a Coalition government in the past. Turnbull has seen to it that there will be no surplus this time. Perhaps, after another predictably destructive Labor government, we will get our Trump.

Paul,

These days, whatever you say is bound to be absurd, you poor fellow.

ttbn, is that the best you can do, why not try and counter my accretion that Conservatism is based on greed and fear. When mhaze threw in that silly old tart from Britain Thatcher, and the equally befuddle second rate actor from America, Ronald Reagan as shining examples of Conservative leaders, I knew something was wrong.