Tough as old boots… and just as palatable

As I mentioned during the week, Stephen Conroy’s ill fated media regulation bill may have woken up certain sections of Australia’s media that have been asleep at the wheel for the past 3 years, or maybe even longer.

Now even territory that was once friendly, if not fawning in it’s praise of Gillard’s famed negotiation skills and her steely resolve to hang on to power at all costs, has started to actually analyse the PM’s performance and personality a little more critically than before following one of the strangest days in Australian political history.

This makes a pleasant change to the normally sycophantic scribbling that the Canberra Press Gallery has continually dished up to Australians in both the News Ltd and Fairfax press over the past few years.

The latest scribe to actually put his thinking cap on is Mark Butler, Editor-at-Large of the Sydney Morning Herald (oh, how I love that term… “Editor–at-Large“).

In Butler’s latest piece this morning, he has had a look at Gillard’s “legendary” toughness and comes to the conclusion that it is now actually a massive flaw of her somewhat questionable character.

Let’s see what Mark has to say after the ALP’s leadership debacle on Thursday

This is the worst of bullfighting: the contest in which the wounded beast thrashes on, scarred and bloodied but stubbornly defiant in the face of what the matador and everyone in the stands knows to be the inevitability of its demise.

Julia Gillard is mortally wounded. She might have lived to fight another day after Thursday’s farcical leadership showdown – and she might well have put paid to Kevin Rudd’s ambitions in the process – but her political demise is assured.

If the Labor caucus is incapable of delivering the coup de grace, then the Australian people surely will on September 14.

Ouch.

Gillard herself considers herself to be “feisty” but, as I explained last week, feisty is not something that I would like to use to describe myself, especially given it’s alternative meanings in the PM’s favourite dictionary.

So, what does Mark have to say about Gillard’s “legendary” toughness now that the Raging Bull of Altona is mortally wounded, as he so eloquently put it?

We have heard much in recent times about Gillard’s toughness.

Friend and foe acknowledge the remarkable emotional strength that has enabled her to withstand the enervating pressures of minority government and the intense and unrelenting attacks that she has endured from opponents inside and outside her party.

But it is time to recognise that toughness not as a virtue but as a terrible flaw, an obstinacy that has encouraged Gillard to defy the harsh reality that her leadership has lost authority and that she is driving the Labor Party inexorably towards disaster.

Well now, that sounds like a pretty fair assessment to me.

Gillard’s authority has long been shattered in all circles in Australia except in those of her main political constituents – Australia’s increasingly unrepresentative unions and the faceless men that run them.

Much like Gillard, Australia’s unions are staring unflinchingly down the barrel as they look to rush headlong to their own demise along with her.

More power to them, I say…

Hopefully by the end of this increasingly painful period of Australia’s history, they too may just be that…

History.

Well, that’s all settled… or is it?

Julia Gillard’s leadership battles are all over, done and dusted… Labor are 100% united behind Julia Gillard as PM, aren’t they?

Listen to former Chief Whip, Joel Fitzgibbon, lay it all down on the table to Triple J yesterday afternoon.

Mr Fitzgibbon was one of many Labor MP’s who fell on their sword and resigned their posts in Ms Gillard’s Ministry.

In a surprisingly frank interview, Mr Fitzgibbon calmly and clearly outlines what he and 47 others Labor MP’s (and perhaps more that didn’t have the courage of their convictions) thought about Labor’s chances at the next election under the current Prime Minister.

He also touches on exactly he feels is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Yep, that sounds like a united team totally focussed on taking this country forward for the betterment of all Australians.

The Australian Labor Party – It just doesn’t get much better than this.

Ever.

We’re Labor, the fresh start people

Once, twice, three times the lady known as Ms Gillard has steered the Labor party towards a fresh start… At what we’re not sure but it sure isn’t Stabilidy and Cerdundy like we were all promised.

Especially with five senior Ministers and a host of up and comers… who have now gone actually.

Labor, the fresh start people

Rudd ready to pounce?

Is Kevin Rudd about to go all Lazarus on us, rising improbably from the cryogenic storage?

The Australian Financial Review reports that numbers are being crunched right now to decide the fate of not only the Labor party but also Australia’s.

This shouldn’t be how things are done in this country; back stabbing, factional wars and an odious air of contempt for the voting public.

Call an election now and let us decide who WE want, not the faceless men of the ALP party room.

Let’s not forget that regardless who leads Labor, they’re all lemons

Can’t teach an old dog new tricks

The faceless men of the ALP.

No one really knows who these power brokers and back room dealers are, but they certainly have a lot of say in how Labor works.

But the current situation of faceless men deciding what the voting public really should isn’t something new for Left in Australian politics.

In fact it was the same kind of deal way back when Arthur Calwell was leader of the ALP back in the early 1960’s.

For those who are unfamiliar with Mr Arthur Calwell, he was a was a powerful unionist before he entered Parliament and a staunch supporter of the White Australia Policy before Gough Whitlam ousted him from the ALP leadership.

Some of that sounds pretty damn familiar doesn’t it?

Perhaps this is where Julia Gillard is getting her inspiration for her recent demonisation of productive 457 visa holders and promising to “put Australian jobs first and foreigners to the back of the queue“.

Hmmm… seems like Australian’s havent really learnt much in the past 50 years, have we?