KATINA CURTIS: Tony Abbott might be the answer for the Liberals depending on what the question is

Has the Liberal Party gone back to the future? Or has it done the only thing it could to re-energise its base and bring people back to the fold?

Your answer probably depends on your analysis of what’s gone wrong with the Liberals.

Are voters backing community independents because the Liberals have lurched to the right? Or are they fleeing to One Nation because the Liberals have gone too woke?

It’s a bit of both – and that’s a big problem.

Liberals are contemplating the path forward against a backdrop where One Nation is now the most popular party in the country, according to the Redbridge poll published in the AFR on Monday.

Labor will tell you it’s still two years until the election and one poll doesn’t mean anything.

But the trend has been clear for months now.

In truth, Labor has been worried about where voters are at, and the accelerated splintering of support for close to seven years.

It’s adjusted its campaigning strategy accordingly, treating every seat like a marginal one and constantly doorknocking.

The Coalition parties are playing catch-up but, as Angus Taylor said in his first press conference as leader, they recognise that the stakes are now change or die.

Enter Tony Abbott.

He’s long been one of the best and most ruthless communicators in politics.

His style of relentless, disciplined messaging was on show again in his brief speech accepting the party presidency – where he called for a “people’s revolt”, said the Liberals should increase membership fivefold, and declared it the “patriot party” – and in subsequent media interviews.

“The party president is the organisational leader, not the political leader, but I don’t think there’s ever been a party president who’s taken a vow of silence, and I’m certainly not going to start,” he told Radio National on Monday morning.

Angus Taylor said the situation called for all hands on deck.

But those on the moderate end of his party have appeared uncomfortable talking about Abbott’s role, insisting he won’t have a say in forming or advocating for policy.

His job will be overhauling the campaigning operations.

“I think all these organisational things are interesting in the media, but I’m focused on the policy work,” Andrew Bragg said on Friday.

Tim Wilson said he was sure Abbott understood the demarcation.

Less than 15 minutes later, the party sent an email to supporters in Abbott’s name – something it never did with previous president John Olsen – to rev them up and urge people to “please, stay with us in the fight to save our country”.

Joining Abbott as fresh blood (well, new faces) on the party’s executive is Howard-era foreign minister Alexander Downer.

He at least spoke about digital campaigning and the need to become “media tarts” in his speech accepting a vice-presidential role.

These blasts from the past focus minds on how the contemporary crop of parliamentarians is performing.

If the party is struggling to attract voters’ attention, it needs a better message and it needs better salespeople.

It doesn’t need the kind of underwhelming performances we saw in Senate estimates last week.

(This is discounting the indefatigable but questionable efforts from Jane Hume, who lodged 26,638 questions on notice for officials over the previous three weeks of estimates.)

Really, the biggest thing the public probably took away from the hours and hours of quizzing public servants was that there are a bunch of people on both sides of politics who have been hanging around on the parliamentary benches for decades and yet are still largely anonymous.

The next election cycle brings a strong opportunity to shake up who voters send to the house of review – especially in WA.

Voters sent a relatively fresh set of faces last year to represent the State.

The other half of WA’s Senate team should be thinking about their futures when their term is up in 2028: Sue Lines, Michaelia Cash, Glenn Sterle, Dean Smith, Dorinda Cox and Fatima Payman.

Of course, if the shattering of support for the Liberals and, now, Labor that we’re seeing in polls now continues all the way to the election, voters will make that choice for them.