Why won't you answer my question, Mr Abbott?
Despite what you may think, I do have a degree of sympathy for political journos.
Political change within a democracy usually occurs at a glacial pace, often involving small numbers of people talking in stuffy, over-heated rooms or (less frequently) large numbers of people shouting at other people on the streets and dodging the rubber bullets and tear gas.
Unhappily for political journos, it’s more the “small numbers of people talking in stuffy, over-heated rooms” scenario, which makes it hard to write entertaining copy. After all, what self-respecting Chief of Staff or editor is going to be pleased with “In dramatic scenes in Canberra, nothing much happened and the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had a nice cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit”?
No, far better to bang out the sort of tripe everybody else is writing. It’s easier and after a while you can write guff like “Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is standing by besieged Minister for X after a controversial series of weeks as the opposition blah, blah, blah…” in your sleep – which I believe is Glenn Milne’s preferred way of working.
Case in point.
For weeks, the Gallery has been churning out opinion piece after opinion piece about how the Tony Abbott has the Ruddster “rattled”, about how people are starting to “see through the Rudd Government spin” and endless bilge about “plummeting approval ratings”; based on nothing more than tittle-tattle and idle chat in coffee shops.
The latest Newspoll in today’s Oz has the two party preferred vote for Labor at 52 per cent (coalition at 48) – compared with the November 2007 election of…err…52.7.
Three years of bluster, bullshit and hype has resulted in three quarters of fuck-all.
Alex also asked why isn't Lindsay Tanner treasurer and why Julie Bishop?
There are a number of possible reasons as to why Lindsay Tanner isn’t treasurer, Alex. Swan is from the right and Queensland (like the PM) while Tanner is from the left and Victoria, which may be a factor but I suspect they use Tanner as the political head kicker while leaving Swan as the “calm, sensible voice of reason”.
I think we’re all still scratching our heads about Julie Bishop, though.
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the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had a nice cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit
Wrong, Ramon! The PM only eats Iced Vo Vos
The Labor Party is a broad church, Squib.
There's room for all sort of biscuits.
Oh Ramon, everyone may be mad for the private life of Perseus, but it's your colourful commentary that I look forward to the most. And while politics itself may be as boring as you say, it's that soap opera like media dramatisation that makes it, for me at least, such a fine substitute for regular television. Perhaps one day I'll get interested in the less superficial side of things. Maybe not.
There are a number of possible reasons as to why Lindsay Tanner isn’t treasurer, Alex. Swan is from the right and Queensland (like the PM) while Tanner is from the left and Victoria, which may be a factor but I suspect they use Tanner as the political head kicker while leaving Swan as the “calm, sensible voice of reason”.
See, to me, Swan is the opposite of a calming voice of reason. To me, the bloke always looks flustered, he seems to get caught off guard a lot and the way he falls back on rehearsed lines comes off as awkward and unnatural. On the other hand, I've never seen Tanner look rattled, he handles himself well in an argument and at least gives the impression that he really knows his shit. (Okay, maybe I'm just a little hot for Tanner).
You know, I sort of remember you once saying that Julia Gillard was Kevin Rudd's head kicker. Is there something about Victorian lefties that makes them particularly suited to that role?
And I was really hoping that you were going to point something out about Bishop that I'd completely overlooked. As far as I can tell, her current role in the Libs seems to be "hang back and try not to say anything stupid". She could be doing that from the backbench.
Also, I watched that 4 Corners thing on Tony Abbott last night. Is it just me, or does Howard come off as a bit of and arrogant prick sometimes?
Okay, maybe I'm just a little hot for Tanner
Just as well we know you're a chick, Alex.
Tanner and Gillard both came up through student politics (the old Australian Union of Students) where the motto was "if you see a head, kick it".
The continuing success of Julia Bishop can be summed up in a simple phrase - "no threat to anyone".
Is it just me, or does Howard come off as a bit of an arrogant prick sometimes?
It's not just you.
That is an ugly cat.
I wonder what biscuits the Septic Faux Labor Premier in Macquarie Street eats?
Dunno Pepsi, but I suspect La Gillard feasts daily on raw human hearts, torn bleeding from the chests of the opposition front-bench.
So she's a bit like Alex in that regard.
Ha Ramon, I knew there was a reason I liked Gillard, too. I saw the Insiders mob discussing the idea of Julia as PM. Storm in a teacup at this stage?
And speaking of tough birds, what's your opinions/predictions regarding Robertson.
Pepsi, being a septic, she would eat her biscuits with gravy, no?
Bishop is there to keep the WA faction in the tent, though she hasn't done much of a job keeping Wilson away from the press gallery.
Ramon, I would argue that politics is particularly interesting at the moment. Not a lot of lawmaking going on, but the "battle of ideas" is fairly well contested.
Whats the opinion on Rudd's future? Should he be sleeping with one eye open?
Whats the opinion on Rudd's future? Should he be sleeping with one eye open?
No.
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