Politics
Book Details

Battlelines

Tony Abbott

Battlelines is a frank examination of the way forward for the Liberal Party.

Opinion

'This is a genuine attempt to reassess Liberalism in contemporary Australia from the point of view of a vigorous, genuine social conservative who demonstrates an understanding of politics as a contest of ideas, not just of wills and sound bites.'

-- Shaun Carney, The Age, 28 September 2009

'One of Abbott's key characteristics is an often disarming frankness. Unlike so many politicians, almost always we know where we stand with him. And as befits a former journalist, he knows how to work with words. Perhaps this is why Abbott's lively political and personal manifesto compares favourably with Kevin Rudd's recent essays, which have been duller than dishwater. Dull Abbott isn't.'

-- Ross Fitzgerald, Sydney Morning Herald, 8 August 2009

About this Title

What's next for the conservative side of politics? Where are new battlelines to be drawn?

Senior Liberal Party figure and parliamentary pugilist Tony Abbott offers a frank analysis of the way forward for the Liberal Party. Here he draws lessons from the dying days of the Howard Government, and gives his views on his contemporaries, including Kevin Rudd, Peter Costello, Julia Gillard and Malcolm Turnbull.

In Battlelines, Abbott looks at the values and instincts that drive the Liberal Party and proposes policy that the party should adopt.

This is the often humorous story of his own political development. He describes the truth about politicians' lives; his 'days from hell'; insider moments from the halls of power; and how a would-be priest believed he had fathered an unknown son.

Battlelines outlines a state of play for the Liberal Party, cementing Tony Abbott's reputation as one of the Liberal Party's most interesting thinkers and fearless advocates.

About the Author

Tony Abbott is the current Federal Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. From 2004 to 2007 he was Minister for Health and Ageing in the Howard Government and Leader of the House of Representatives in the Federal Parliament. Since 1994 he has been the Member for Warringah, New South Wales, in the House of Representatives. He has written two books in defence of Australia's existing constitutional system, The Minimal Monarchy and How to Win the Constitutional War.

978-0-522-85606-4