Anthony Albanese is flipping through the political tulips when it comes to one of his Labor senators breaking party rules and discussing the Palestine issue.
WA Labor Senator Fatima Payman defied both her Prime Minister and her party when she sided with the Greens in a motion to recognize Palestinian statehood.
Yes, the Labor rule of maintaining the collective and not voting against the party is set in stone. At least theoretically. And yes, the Prime Minister has very explicitly condemned the Greens for fomenting violence when it comes to issues surrounding Palestine and Israel.
But such principles matter less than raw political decision-making. Albo has a problem when it comes to balancing competing interests on this thorny issue within his own party. Not unlike the challenges President Joe Biden faces within the American Democrats.
Taking down the 29-year-old Australian senator for what she did would only increase tensions within Labor.
So on Wednesday morning he chose weakness by refusing to expel her from the party – but for strategic reasons.
Senator Fatima Payman (pictured, with David Pocock) crossed the floor and voted against her party, contrary to party rules
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (photo) only applies the rules selectively when it suits him. At this point, it suits him not to expel a young senator for violating them
For starters, she’s a young female senator for diversity. The last thing the 61-year-old prime minister wanted to do was enforce party rules to destroy her career.
It is one thing to kick an aging union official like CFMEU boss John Setka out of the party for breaking the rules.
However, doing this to a young advocate for Palestine would have enraged activist voters and party members that Albo doesn’t want to argue with.
Not because he is counting down to the elections where every vote counts.
Kicking Senator Payman out of the Labor Party for taking the floor – as the rules dictate – would have divided the factions, if the Greens had received a wave of support at Labour’s expense.
It would also likely have only increased tensions among beleaguered Labor electorates across the country. The prime minister has pointed out the damage Palestinian protesters are causing to his party’s electoral offices.
Palestinian protesters are unhappy with the Labor government’s response to the war between Israel and Hamas
Given that Albo is dependent on the support of factional leftists to maintain his dominance in the party chamber as leader, taking action against Washington’s good senator would also have been a risky venture in that regard.
If the election is close and the Prime Minister returns and leads only a minority government, how forgiving would the left faction be next time if he wanted to sell some of its policy values?
The Labor left currently feels that Palestine is not being heard enough. The Prime Minister faces an ongoing struggle to respond to their demands without losing the mainstream or the majority of the right.
While it is true that if you do not reprimand her for breaking the rules, there is a risk that others will engage in copycat behavior in the months and years to come, Albo will hope that he can deal with such circumstances on his own, away from the fierce criticism that this situation entails. problem is currently being received.
To be fair, this is not the first time a Labor MP has spoken without being reprimanded. Harry Quick did it in 2005, and Graeme Campbell in 1988. On both occasions, political pragmatism exceeded the rules, although Campbell eventually left the party.
Many more people have been accused of breaking party rules over the years.
While I have long disagreed with the Labor Party’s approach to suppressing the right of conscience of MPs and Senators to speak at any time without risking expulsion from their party, such rules have only make sense if they are applied when it does not suit them.
Senator Fatima Payman (pictured) has sided with the Greens in a Senate vote to recognize Palestine as a state
Not only when it is convenient to use them to control dissent for the sake of superficial party unity. Or to rid the party of members when it suits them.
Selectively following the rules resembles a lawless process run by leaders who pick and choose.
Would Albo be as relaxed if one of his MPs crossed the floor during a debate on nuclear energy, for example?
Labor MPs would never talk about this issue because they know Albo would come at them like a ton of bricks.
The exact opposite of his response to Senator Payman.
That’s how politics works all too often: power and pragmatism trump principles. Agree with her or disagree, at least Senator Payman stuck to her principles.
A rarity in modern politics.