Dammit, I like the boy
Not so long ago the Liberal Party looked like the land of the living dead.
The time of the election was Rudd’s to choose, and the only betting was on how much bigger his majority would be, and what he would do with control of the Senate.
Not any more. Love him or hate him, Tony Abbott has pulled the Liberals back from the brink and brought them within hailing distance of recovering power.
At the beginning of December I thought the Liberals were entering their final meltdown. Boy, was I wrong.
Much to everyone’s surprise, people actually like Tony Abbott. And not just Liberals. I like Tony Abbott. I wouldn’t vote for him in a million years, but at least he’s human. Next to him, Kevin Rudd looks soulless and mechanical. And worried.
An election that might come ‘at any moment’ has receded to ‘the last possible moment’. Labor members in marginal seats are glancing at the job ads, just in case.
Abbott has done this by moving away from the centre and showing he’s a genuine Liberal. People who were unsure exactly what the party was about now have a clearer answer. That shores up his base, but it’s doing more.
It’s making Rudd — who has never looked authentically Labor — appear shonky. Rudd remains mired in the middle ground.
His policies look slapdash, cobbled together in the back of his sleep-deprived brain at 2am, rather than proceeding from basic principles — and as a result, some of them are unravelling. Roof insulation, anyone?
There’s the endless procrastination. Have an inquiry, a report, a consultation exercise, anything, it seems, rather than actually do something based on convictions. If the research says people don’t like an idea — even if it’s a good one, even if it’s grounded in what we thought were Labor principles — ditch it. Human Rights Act, anyone?
But if the research says people want something, forget inquiries and cobble it together fast, even if it makes no sense.
Defend it to the death, even though it contradicts the principles Labor supposedly stands for, even when it won’t do what you promised anyway. Like internet censorship. Or the national broadband network.
Worse, Rudd’s a charisma-free zone, with all the personality of a Centrelink clerk quoting benefit regulations. Abbott may be a cardinal-ridden wingnut, but at least he’s a real wingnut, with an endearing streak of humility and an active conscience.
Because of that, we may have to get used to the idea of an Abbott government, which might not be a complete disaster for the GBLTI community.
Unless of course Rudd’s dodgy heart plays up and Julia Gillard steps into the top job before the poll. Then things could get really interesting!
I wouldn’t vote for him in a million years either, but I think you make a good point about Rudd.
Great read – you had me giggling to myself a few times there Doug :)
Happy MG!
Funny, but since this came out last week Rudd has a) worked at humanising his language and attitude, being ever so ‘umble sirs, about his own flaws, b) moved to clean up the roof insulation scheme, c) admitted the government has done too much talking and not enough acting. Wonder which of his advisors reads this column :-) ?
I’m stand with David and Rebecca on this.
As a former Trotskyist, I know Parliamentary politics has always had it’s problems but it’s definitely a sad day when both the major parties are led by Conservative Christians who want to impose the Bible on everyone.
It seems that everytime a media whore like Tony Abbott or Pauline Hanson says something offensive, they are considered “brave” or “politically incorrect” and we’re supposed to admire the fact that they “tell it like it is”.
Hanson and Abbott are not courageous. They are bigots who enjoy putting down people who they know will not be able to fight back. Abbott’s recent comments about homeless people are case in point.
As for Abbott’s conscience, I think it is quite flexible. Roof insulation deaths are tragedies. Bernie Banton’s death doesn’t seem as tragic from Abbott’s viewpoint.
Oh Doug! Tony Abbott has an active conscience? I don’t doubt it, but his active conscience keeps pointing him in the direction of outdated patriarchal ideas about women’s role. There’s also the little matter of his climate change denial. ‘Crap’, I believe, is his word for the scientific evidence that climate change exists.
I’ve never voted Liberal, and never will, but give me Malcolm Turnbull over Abbott any day.
“An endearing streak of humility?!” Gee, Tony hides that well.
Look I cant see Abbott ever being Prime Minister of Australia. Sure he might be more genuine than Rudd, however I suspect his right-wing ideology is letting him down. I also feel that most Australians are starting to realise how right-wing the Liberals really were, and after many years of a consertive right wing government I cant see Australia heading down that parth just yet. There is a saying that when you change a government you change the country. At the end of the day there is allways going to be voters who will vote Labor or Liberal no matter who the leader is, so I believe it comes down to swing voters on election day as to who gets to govern and I would be highly surpised if they sided with Abbott. Personally I would hate for the Liberals to win government, as in the history of Australia no other government has removed the amount of discrimination for us GLBT people than what the Rudd government is currently doing. And as much as I like the Greens I cant vote for them as I believe their enviromental policies are going to cost jobs and kill the economy.
Doug – If Gillard gets into the top job, don’t be surpised if she is not as gay friendly as what you think. Im yet to hear her speak out in support of gay rights, correct me if Im wrong.