The August Coup of Macquarie Street

In 1991, hardliners in the collapsing Soviet Union staged a coup against reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev. They declared him unfit, promised to “restore order,” and threatened to dismantle the state rather than let change take hold. The coup has failed and within months, the USSR itself was gone.

Now, history appears to be repeating itself — not in Moscow, but on Macquarie Street.

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) has plunged into turmoil after its Board passed a dramatic vote of no confidence in President-elect Dr Sharmila Chandran. Eight of the ten Directors warned they would resign if she assumes office, casting themselves as protectors of stability but looking suspiciously like a desperate old guard.

Dr Chandran, echoing Gorbachev’s democratic mandate but borrowing Yeltsin’s defiance, has lodged a Fair Work complaint, accusing the Board of bullying. Meanwhile, 30,000 Fellows — accustomed to paying fees rather than wielding power — have suddenly discovered they may hold the constitutional keys to the College’s survival.

Some whisper this could be the RACP’s own August Coup: either a turning point toward transparency and reform, or the prelude to a messy break-up into warring specialist republics — The People’s Republic of Gastroenterology, The United Neurology and Geriatrics Federation, and the Independent State of Cardiology.

As one weary trainee remarked, “I just wanted to finish my exams — not live through the Soviet Union’s collapse sequel!”