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Arthur Fadden: a political silhouette
Arthur Fadden has gone down in folklore as one of the great characters in the Australian parliament. This book brings his personality and with back to life, as part of the explanation for his popularity and political success as a leader of the Country Party, prime minister and long-serving treasurer. He did much to build the coalition between the Liberal Party and the Country (now National) Party that has remained in place to this day. (From back cover).
240 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2014
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August 3, 2020
Who remembers Arthur Fadden today? For someone who was Prime Minister, Deputy PM, Treasurer, Leader of the Country Party, in Federal Parliament for over twenty years, as well as serving a term in the Queensland Legislature, Fadden seems a forgotten man in the panoply of past Australian politicians. Arthur Fadden: a political silhouette will not be the book that brings about a change in that status, but is a short reminder of why he should be remembered better and given more credit for Australia's success in re-establishing post-war prosperity.
Fadden was not one to write copiously on his own life, and not one to have a large mass of personal papers, which adds some difficulty for an any author who wants to write about him. While Arklay has written a serviceable book, she has had to rely too much on newspaper reports and Hansard, which unfortunately means this book contains a lot of what happened, but not too much of why it happened. We don't - beyond a surface-level view - get much of an insight into what made Fadden tick as a man and as a politician. It is always a hard balance to strike as to how much contextual material should be included in books such as this, but I feel this one would have flowed better with some more additions of such material.
As it stands Arklay shows us a man who liked to be popular, who knew when to take advice from experts, but also one who had a nose for how things would work politically. Never a great intellectual, Fadden used his hail-fellow-well-met personality to advantage, never more so than when he took over the Prime Ministership from Menzies after the latter resigned, when Fadden's popularity amongst the combined United Australia Party and Country Party membership led him to be unchallenged for the position.
When in opposition, sometimes to the detriment of his party and its members, Fadden tried to work with Curtin to successfully prosecute the War. Once he was back on the government benches, Fadden proved crucial to the success of the Coalition. He was always ready to see the bigger picture and take personal and policy hits for the sake of the country, and for the Country Party's stake in the Government. This did not mean that he didn't work hard for his constituency, and maintained a strong Country Party representation in Cabinet.
What does come across in this book is Fadden's outgoing character, his genuine wish to be liked, his sense of humour, and his sense of loyalty - to country, to party and to his mates.
This is not the definitive book on Fadden - it seems it is yet to be written. It is however a serviceable introduction.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
Fadden was not one to write copiously on his own life, and not one to have a large mass of personal papers, which adds some difficulty for an any author who wants to write about him. While Arklay has written a serviceable book, she has had to rely too much on newspaper reports and Hansard, which unfortunately means this book contains a lot of what happened, but not too much of why it happened. We don't - beyond a surface-level view - get much of an insight into what made Fadden tick as a man and as a politician. It is always a hard balance to strike as to how much contextual material should be included in books such as this, but I feel this one would have flowed better with some more additions of such material.
As it stands Arklay shows us a man who liked to be popular, who knew when to take advice from experts, but also one who had a nose for how things would work politically. Never a great intellectual, Fadden used his hail-fellow-well-met personality to advantage, never more so than when he took over the Prime Ministership from Menzies after the latter resigned, when Fadden's popularity amongst the combined United Australia Party and Country Party membership led him to be unchallenged for the position.
When in opposition, sometimes to the detriment of his party and its members, Fadden tried to work with Curtin to successfully prosecute the War. Once he was back on the government benches, Fadden proved crucial to the success of the Coalition. He was always ready to see the bigger picture and take personal and policy hits for the sake of the country, and for the Country Party's stake in the Government. This did not mean that he didn't work hard for his constituency, and maintained a strong Country Party representation in Cabinet.
What does come across in this book is Fadden's outgoing character, his genuine wish to be liked, his sense of humour, and his sense of loyalty - to country, to party and to his mates.
This is not the definitive book on Fadden - it seems it is yet to be written. It is however a serviceable introduction.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
Displaying 1 of 1 review