ABSTRACT
When Labor returned to office in March 1983 under the Prime Ministership of R.J. Hawke there was a major task of reconciling elements of the Party to the policies which Hawke wished to follow. These elements were diverse and their attitudes did not always coalesce. But they constituted points of attachment which in one way or another could, if not carefully handled, resist some of the shifts which needed to be made to attract a wider constituency to Labor and to overcome the economic and other problems which were holding back Australia's progress. There was still an old guard which had not moved much from its far left days. There were younger activists whose views and ambitions for Labor had been formed in the heady days of the brief Whitlam ascendancy, when to some in the Labor Party (and not only there of course) windows seemed to be opening on a new world exciting for its liberation and various forms of indulgence rather than its opportunities for productive work and responsibility. There was also a continuing revulsion against the attitudes and policies which had engaged Australia in the Viet Nam War, a revulsion which Hawke himself had expressed with force and persistence. There were other elements too in the Party's history and tradition which helped to produce wariness towards the foreign and some of the domestic policies which Hawke wanted to run. But Hawke had a strong base of personal support in the Labor movement. He had spent almost his whole working life in the Trade Union movement, had proved himself as a champion of Labor, and was widely admired and liked by working people. Thus, when he set about widening Labor's appeal and constituency, those within the Party who distrusted that tactic found it hard to rally opposition to him, especially as no alternative offered the same prospect of electoral success. His personal charisma, powerful forensic skills and confidence in managing internal politics of the Party helped him to maintain a strong position in the early years of his ministry.
