Scott Morrison opens up to Seven News Spotlight on the ‘perfect storm’ and ‘malicious’ campaign that took a heavy toll on his mental health while he was Prime Minister

Scott Morrison has opened up about the “bitter, malicious and untrue” campaign that took a heavy toll on his mental health while he was prime minister.

The former prime minister said the major issues of the day, such as the pandemic, Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific or the massive public response in the wake of the devastating Black Summer forest fires of 2019-2020, did not worry him in the same way . as the personal attacks on his character.

It all started after winning the 2019 federal election, which he labeled a “miracle” at the time.

Until recently, very few people knew of the personal internal hell he was going through, aside from his wife Jenny and a few close friends.

“A brutal, personal, bitter, malicious and untrue campaign against my character was waged from the day I won the 2019 election,” Morrison told Seven News Spotlight.

“I got a very clear feeling after winning that election that I shouldn’t have won, that election that seemed to offend quite a few sensitivities, and from that day to the next it was like that. on.

‘No one around me had any idea this was going on.

“It didn’t affect my performance.”

Morrison, 55, told Channel Seven political editor Mark Riley that the personal attacks had such an impact that his doctor eventually prescribed anti-anxiety medication.

“It really helped and that was good, so I would encourage people in those situations, especially guys – that’s not weak, it’s smart,” Mr Morrison said.

‘Don’t tackle it alone. It’s there. Reach out.’

Mr Morrison also talked about why he called China ‘bullying’ over the coronavirus pandemic.

He insists it was worth it, despite the huge $22 billion cost to Australia from trade bans.

“It was consistent with a whole series of things we had done in our fight against China,” he said.

“During the Barack-Obama years, it’s not necessarily critical of the Obama administration, but China surged ahead in the South China Sea.

‘Nobody did anything.

They will go as far as you let them go.

“Unless you say ‘Stop,’ they will keep coming.”

‘We stood up to them. They retreated.

‘They were looking for a different relationship with the new government. Good!’

Morrison called on the Anthony Albanese government to be wary of China.

“By all means, make as much money as you can in China,” he said.

“But understand that they can turn it off.

“They can threaten to turn it off and they can threaten your government into changing its policies.”

The devout Christian also spoke about the important role God plays in his life.

“I see that God is with me every day,” Mr Morrison said.

When asked what God’s plan is for him now, Mr. Morrison replied, “To love me.

“That’s the best way I can answer it.”

Mr Morrison first revealed his secret mental health battle in his new book Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness.

He said most of his time at The Lodge was “debilitating and painful,” and that without anxiety medication he would have fallen into a deep depression.

“My doctor was amazed that I had lasted so long before seeking help,” Morrison wrote in his book.

‘Without this help, severe depression would have developed. What hit me was the combination of sheer physical exhaustion with the ruthless and callous brutality of the politics and media attacks.’

Mr Morrison said while that was all part of the job of a public figure, “politicians were not made of stone”.

‘You’re afraid of the future and you can’t get out of bed. It can shut you down mentally and physically. It robs you of your joy and can damage relationships. I know this from personal experience,” he wrote.

However, Morrison insisted his mental health issues did not affect his performance in his job.

Morrison served as Australia’s 30th Prime Minister from 2018 to 2022 before losing to Anthony Albanese in the 2022 election.

He was replaced by Liberal candidate Simon Kennedy as federal MP for Cook in Sydney’s south at the recent by-election.

Mr Morrison retired from politics in February this year and later became a strategic advisor to DYNE Maritime, an Australian-founded, US-based venture capital firm that invests in technologies related to the AUKUS pact.

He is also vice chairman of American Global Strategies, which was co-founded and chaired by Robert O’Brien, who served as national security advisor to US President Donald Trump from 2019 to 2021.