Blunt was immediately promoted to the opposition front bench, serving as shadow Minister for Social Services. In 1989 he organised a leadership coup against the veteran leader of the NPA, Ian Sinclair. Blunt aimed to modernise the NPA and bring it into closer alignment with the Liberal Party, particularly on issues of economic deregulation. He was also more socially liberal than most NPA members.
Unfortunately for Blunt, neither of these things was popular with rank and file NPA members, and he found his leadership under increasing attack from traditionalists. At the same time the seat of Richmond, which had been held by the NPA and its predecessor the Country Party since 1922, was becoming more urbanised. The antiwar campaigner Helen Caldicott announced that she would oppose Blunt in his electorate at the next election.
The culmination of these trends was a swing against the NPA at the 1990 elections, at which the HawkeLabor government was re_elected, and Blunt's defeat in Richmond. The fact that Blunt had no local connections worked against him in a country seat. The Labor Party won the seat on Caldicott's preferences. Blunt's demise meant the end of attempts to shift the NPA away from its traditional conservatism.
After leaving politics Blunt went into business. He led a number of trade and investment missions to the United States and was regular speaker at international trade and investment outlook conferences. In 2003 he was National Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia.
External link
American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (http://www.stroudgate.net/aab/articles/026.html)
Blunt aimed to modernise the NPA and bring it into closer alignment with the Liberal Party, particularly on issues of economic deregulation.
Unfortunately for Blunt, neither of these things was popular with rank and file NPA members, and he found his leadership under increasing attack from traditionalists.
Blunt's demise meant the end of attempts to shift the NPA away from its traditional conservatism.
Blunt entered politics in 1972, when he was elected county clerk and chief election official of Greene County, Missouri (where Springfield is located).
Blunt was first elected to Congress in 1996, when incumbent Congressman Mel Hancock honored his pledge to serve only four terms.
Blunt's district, one of the most Republican districts in the country, is located in the Ozark Mountains of southwestern Missouri, a district which includes Springfield and Joplin.
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