This text analyzes the Australian Liberal Party. After a decade of unprecedented defeats, the Liberals are in a crisis. This study explains why, analyzes the components of the party and its history which have led to the crisis, and offers an agenda for reform.

The Australian Liberal Party is in deep crisis. Losing the 'unloseable' election in 1993 gave it an unenviable record of five successive losses, nearly reversing the record of successes set by Robert Menzies. As a result, the party now faces a policy vacuum; its leader is being stalked by those in the party who think they can do better; membership levels have collapsed, while those who remain are bitter and angry; the internal relations of the party are strained almost to the point of civil war; and ideological divisions are endemic.The Liberals analyses this crisis and shows how the current parlous state of the party is a product of its history. The formation of the party in 1909 and its reformation by Menzies in 1944 contained elements of fission that were triggered by election defeats. The 1993 defeat unleashed an explosion. The Liberals unpacks the current crisis and leaves no doubt about the challenge of rebuilding the party.