ABBOTT SWAYS THIS WAY AND THAT..PLAYS BOTH SIDES..WHAT DOES HE BELIEVE IN???

Abbott must walk away from economic populism

• PAUL KELLY, EDITOR-AT-LARGE 
• From:The Australian 
• August 31, 2011 12:00AM

• Edited by S W T Read

HE WILL MAKE HIMSELF INTO ANYTHING YOU LIKE

FOR TODAY ANYWAY

AT a time of exacting economic challenge for Australia the issue for Tony Abbott is not the carbon tax - it is whether Abbott has a policy agenda or any particular conviction other than to get into power at any cost.


For the nation, the major unknown about Abbott is his economic beliefs. Yes, he is a protege of John Howard, however before Howard the spectre of B. A. Santamaria's regulatory economics hangs over Abbott's history.


Indeed, among Abbott's frontbench colleagues there is real uncertainty about his economic philosophy, notably whether his faith in pro-market policy outweighs his instinct for government intervention.


It is a subject of wide and growing contention. If Abbott's colleagues are unsure about his economic mettle, is it any surprise the public are unconvinced?


We see someone that sips on a pair of overalls or a suit, and god forbid a pair of swimmers, then he pretends to be one of us.


Which one of us we haven't a clue, there is an old saying that says you can't be everything to everybody.


So what are you Tony are you just a chameleon or a person with some sort of vision, or will it always remain a secret