Senator Cory Bernardi, as the leader of Australian Conservatives, has failed his first critical national economic test.

A fortnight ago, Bernardi issued his weekly ‘common sense’ e-mail to supporters calling on Australia to force Qatar to divest billions of dollars of investment in Australia due to Qatar’s role in funding international Islamic terrorism.

Bernardi’s rationale is that Australia should deal with other nations with the ‘ethic of reciprocity’.

However, Bernardi’s so-called ‘common sense’ call to arms fails on several grounds which brings into question his ability to develop and formulate public policy and lead a forward-looking, proactive political movement.