When elections are held most people take a partisan position. Those positions can range from a mild barracking for one side, to outright political warrior hysteria. When the result is in however, it is considered good form to respect the decision, because the people have spoken, and their choice, no matter how dopey it looks, stands. This is the nature of democracy, and we are all signed up as believers.

The problem with this government is not its legitimacy, but its relentless pursuit of partisan advantage. The slide began six years ago. The people were jaded, bored by the machinations of Gillard and Rudd, and looking for redemption. Enter Tony Abbott, who from the moment he ascended to the top job treated the country as his personal fiefdom, and really the people as his subjects.

I cannot understand why these conservative men so lack any self-awareness. They are so boorish, so swashbuckling, so cavalier with standards; the only word I can find is ‘unstatesmanlike’. They behave like a bunch of thieves who know they will be caught, eventually, but are out to plunder what they can in the meantime.

Scott Morrison has gained legitimacy with his election win, but he won with a small drift away from Labor, less than 2%. So that means it is not a landslide, because he only gained two seats. There is no definition of landslide, or mandate, but we know when it is not either. And this time around it was not a landslide, and neither did it confer a mandate. It legitimised a Prime Minister who had gained power through non-electoral means.

Morrison’s choice of a cabinet is the reason this government is awful. This was his opportunity to move on from the shambles he took to the election. It was the time to stamp his authority on government, and signal his intentions of lifting standards. But look at the personnel, and their roles, and their attitude to their portfolios.

This process used to mean something, where truly committed individuals were given burdensome responsibilities, which they would take very seriously, and the result would be a better Australia. It was a given that, if they were not already all over the subject matter, they had the talent and the civic pride to master the brief, so as to deliver quality administration.

It is not unkind to notice that the treasurer is unable to distinguish between the removal of a tax concession, and a new tax.

It is not unkind to notice that the Minister for Emissions Reduction is a sceptic when it comes to renewable energy, and that he believes that electric cars will require every one of their owners to install three phase power into their homes, so that they can re-charge them.

Is it too unkind to remember that the Minister for Home Affairs believes Melburnians are too frightened to go out to dinner, because they are afraid of African teenagers, or that the descendants of Lebanese migrants are genetically more disposed to criminality?

Can it be true that the Prime Minister really thinks it is criminally negligent to bring sick or damaged asylum seekers to Australia for medical treatment?

These are not the opinions or beliefs of a cabinet. They are the fevered and lazy thoughts of a bunch of self-servers, and beneath the dignity of a national government, which is tasked with governing for all, even those deluded souls who voted for the other side.