Canberra Liberals finally guided by logic, not ideology

She's smart, personable, moderate, and has life experience beyond the bubble of politics.

All of that could help the Canberra Liberals win back the credibility they lost as a result of a disastrous election campaign dominated by cheap gimmicks.

But after a string of poor choices and a tendency to put ideology above electability, some weren't sure logic would be the Liberals' guiding factor.

Her selection shows the party may yet know what's good for it.

Lee has to do more than just be the moderate face of the party to win over centrist Canberra voters.

People like former Liberal senator and chief minister Gary Humphries say it's the internal forces with which the real power to dictate the party's direction lies.

The conservative party room members knew they had no option but to back a moderate leader. To do anything else would be to destine themselves to spend even longer in the electoral wilderness.

But they will not necessarily be willing to see the Liberals suddenly pursue a progressive agenda.

This central tension was clear in Lee's first press conference as Opposition Leader.

Asked whether the party needed to create more moderate policies, she tried to have it both ways.

Things must change, she said, but she also emphasised the Liberals were a "broad church", echoing former prime minister John Howard.

Asked what specifically should change, Lee said she would wait for the party's review of the campaign.

Lee will have her work cut out for her as Opposition Leader, needing to navigate a wounded party and internal divisions.

But if the Liberal Party is to have a chance of overturning a 24-year-old Labor government, it must value pragmatism above ideology.

It needs to stop dancing around issues like climate change and renewable energy. Canberrans have clearly spoken - they are concerned about the future of the planet and support government intervention to reduce carbon emissions.

Lee is not only the first woman since 2014 to lead an ACT party represented in the Assembly, but the first person of Asian descent to do so.

She does not want this to define her, but she's also aware of what it may mean for those who don't see themselves in the people elected to represent them.

The Liberals' diversity should force Labor and the Greens to ask themselves some hard questions about the lack of ethnic diversity in their own party rooms.

They need to do more than just pay lip service to inclusivity.

At the moment, the Liberals are the only party who can argue that they have made any real effort to represent multicultural Canberra.

Canberrans want to see a vision for the city beyond empty promises to lower their cost of living.

Comparisons will invariably be drawn to the moderate government of Kate Carnell, the last Liberal to win an election in Canberra.

It would not be useful to attempt to directly emulate her leadership - the territory has changed significantly since she left and it would also disregard the reasons she stepped down.

But there are still valuable lessons to be learnt.

Carnell was not a leader bound by ideology, but one who wanted to get things done. She was known in the media as "can-do Kate".

She was able to steer Canberra through John Howard's deep cuts to the public service and improve private investment in the territory.

Carnell was ultimately forced to step down in controversy - perhaps due to this desire to push through and deliver at any cost.

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Labor will fear an opposition led by Lee far more than the one led by Alistair Coe. It means their favourite line, describing the Canberra Liberals as the most conservative Liberal branch in the country, will now be almost redundant.

So within hours of the appointment on Monday, they were already on the attack, questioning how moderate her views on climate change were.

If Lee can successfully navigate the competing forces in her party and present a small-l liberal agenda with a real vision for Canberra, Labor will really begin to worry.

While Coe's conservatism played a part in the election loss, a lack of credibility sealed the deal. The campaign stunts, and the absence of a reasonable explanation of how the Liberals would deliver their policies, meant an area that should naturally be their strength - responsible economic management - turned into a massive liability.

In the dying days of the campaign, the Liberals even pledged to deliver Canberrans enough money to take a holiday.

It's hard to imagine who would have bought this desperate line - voters know if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

It will now be Lee's job to reverse the damage done.