In which Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott realises that even an aspiring fascist government needs to take the electorate with it until it has taken over and extinguished every democratic institution

It would be unwise to view this as anything but a brief respite during the Abbott Government’s determined march towards a totalitarian regime.

The Sydney Morning Herald 5 August 2014:

The Abbott government has backed down on controversial plans to water down the Racial Discrimination Act.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said it was a ‘‘leadership call’’ to bin the proposed changes to Section 18C of the act, which had been roundly criticised by ethnic community leaders and was unpopular with the wider public.

"Leadership is about preserving national unity on the essentials and that is why I have taken this position," Mr Abbott said….