Colin Steele’s Top 10: Paul Kelly and the Twilight of Australian Exceptionalism

This episode delves into Paul Kelly’s sweeping political analysis in *The Twilight of Exceptionalism*, a major work chronicling the Liberal governments from 2013 to 2022 under Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison. The discussion explores the contrasting leadership styles of these three prime ministers, the ideological battles within the Liberal Party, and the broader shifts in Australian politics during a decade marked by turbulence, cultural change and global disruption.

Colin Steele reflects on Kelly’s incisive commentary about the decline of Australia’s policy leadership and the end of an era once defined by economic reform and national ambition. The conversation examines why these years fell short of the Hawke-Keating and Howard periods, the challenges of governing in an ideological age, and the lessons for political parties navigating fractured electorates. For readers and thinkers interested in leadership, governance and the forces shaping contemporary Australia, this episode offers a compelling narrative of power, failure and transformation.