Cory Bernardi has returned serve after former prime minister John Howard dismissed his prospects of being part of a “serious political movement” following his defection from the Liberal Party to join One Nation.
In an exclusive interview with The Advertiser, Mr Howard said One Nation was not a “serious political movement” and “an accident of political history”.
The former prime minister also said Mr Bernardi was “desperate for recognition”.
“I don’t think, to use the vernacular, he’s going to trouble the scorers,” Mr Howard said.
Speaking to Sky News host Rowan Dean, Mr Bernardi batted away Mr Howard’s remarks, calling the former prime minister a “legend”.
“Mr Howard I’ve known (for a while), he’s a legend,” he said.
“But they seem to wheel him out when the death throes of the Liberal campaign (are) there.
“He’s backed every liberal leadership person, every contender, he has backed every campaign, no matter how hopeless they are.”
Mr Bernardi said for someone of Mr Howards’s stature to dismiss One Nation, which now represents a “great swathe of votes out there”, one question needed to be asked.
“How did it get to this?” he said.
“If the Liberal Party and the Labor parties were actually doing the right thing by the country, if they were enacting policies that people wanted, and if they’re actually making our lives better, well, maybe there wouldn’t be a need for One Nation.”
The former Liberal senator said the “duopoly” on politics, the “uni-party”, could not be saved as both of the main parties were taking Australia in the same direction.
“That’s why One Nation, after three decades of warning people what was happening, what was going to come, after Pauline Hanson’s determination and her prescience I should say, the chickens are coming home to roost,” Mr Bernardi said.
Mr Howard also told The Advertiser that Mr Bernardi was a “pleasant man to deal” with, but called into question his rationale for joining forces with Pauline Hanson.
“Mate, this is the behaviour of somebody who’s desperate for recognition, not somebody who wants to seriously contribute to policy,” Mr Howard said.
Mr Bernardi addressed the former prime minister’s slight against his “behaviour” and claimed attention was the “furthest thing from my mind”.
“You know, Mr Howard to say that I’m seeking attention, well, mate, I’ve enjoyed more than my fair share of time in the spotlight, and that’s the furthest thing from my mind,” he said.
“What I want is to actually fix some of the problems that are there, and I want to help train or support or build an army of people who are going to actually have a very strong voice for their state and for their country.”
Mr Bernardi said if he spent the next four to six years mustering a large followership who aligned with One Nation’s mission to make the country “better off”, he would happily fade into obscurity.
“I only wish Mr Howard would probably do the same about that,” he said.