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A bit of background for those people to whom Aussie politics is a closed book (ie, almost everyone on the planet, including most Aussies...)
Back in late 2007, the conservative government that had been in power for over a decade was voted out, and the Labor party (a broad based party, with many factions but "on average" is left of centre) took over, under the leadership of a man called Kevin Rudd.
Rudd was immensely popular with the electorate, and for two years registered high, but slowly falling, popularity figures. But behind the doors of parliament, he was hated by his colleagues for his management style.
His deputy (Julia Gillard) basically launched a coup, and took over, immediately calling a new election. The election was basically a tie. Gillard negotiated with the far left Green party and several independent MPs to form a government with a 1 vote margin.
End background.
Now, a couple of years later, the Labor party is tearing itself apart. Rudd remains popular with the electorate, where Gillard is not. Gillard is liked by the party members, while Rudd is not.
With a wafer-thin parliamentary margin, even one MP leaving would potentially bring down the government. Thus, the usual political scandals are magnified, since Gillard *has* to keep the corrupt, incompetent and even disloyal MPs in order to retain power. This has meant that someone like Rudd, who want's power back, has been undermining Gillard without fear of recourse. With every single MP needed to retain government, and polls showing a *huge* amount of disaffection among voters, Gillard cannot get rid of anyone.
For months there has been speculation that Rudd was going to challenge for the leadership. It has all come to a head this week, with Rudd resigning from the Ministry, and putting his hat in the ring. MPs have been scathing of the former leader, calling him psychopathic, dysfunctional and all sorts of other things. A video of him swearing was released anonymously in an attempt to damage him, but it seems to have backfired.
Essentially, we have the ruling party of Australia tearing itself apart at the seams. Ministers who, years ago, were singing the praises of Rudd are now going on record describing him as a nightmare. Gillard refuses to answer questions about her role and intentions in the weeks leading up to her coup.
Meanwhile, the leader of the conservative opposition, Tony Abbott (a *very* conservative figure), sits there with a smile on his face, taking Napoleon's advice to heart. "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
Polls came out today, showing that while the electorate very much prefer Abbott to Gillard (43 to 34, with 23 unconfirmed), they *also* prefer Rudd to Abbott (48 to 40, with 12 unconfirmed).
It seems pretty straight forward. Going by these polls, if the Labor party wishes to retain power at the next election, they must pick Rudd. But many of the senior party members have spent the last few weeks ensuring that they would never be picked in a Rudd ministry ever again.
It seems that those of us who want adults in parliament are hoping in vain.
Back in late 2007, the conservative government that had been in power for over a decade was voted out, and the Labor party (a broad based party, with many factions but "on average" is left of centre) took over, under the leadership of a man called Kevin Rudd.
Rudd was immensely popular with the electorate, and for two years registered high, but slowly falling, popularity figures. But behind the doors of parliament, he was hated by his colleagues for his management style.
His deputy (Julia Gillard) basically launched a coup, and took over, immediately calling a new election. The election was basically a tie. Gillard negotiated with the far left Green party and several independent MPs to form a government with a 1 vote margin.
End background.
Now, a couple of years later, the Labor party is tearing itself apart. Rudd remains popular with the electorate, where Gillard is not. Gillard is liked by the party members, while Rudd is not.
With a wafer-thin parliamentary margin, even one MP leaving would potentially bring down the government. Thus, the usual political scandals are magnified, since Gillard *has* to keep the corrupt, incompetent and even disloyal MPs in order to retain power. This has meant that someone like Rudd, who want's power back, has been undermining Gillard without fear of recourse. With every single MP needed to retain government, and polls showing a *huge* amount of disaffection among voters, Gillard cannot get rid of anyone.
For months there has been speculation that Rudd was going to challenge for the leadership. It has all come to a head this week, with Rudd resigning from the Ministry, and putting his hat in the ring. MPs have been scathing of the former leader, calling him psychopathic, dysfunctional and all sorts of other things. A video of him swearing was released anonymously in an attempt to damage him, but it seems to have backfired.
Essentially, we have the ruling party of Australia tearing itself apart at the seams. Ministers who, years ago, were singing the praises of Rudd are now going on record describing him as a nightmare. Gillard refuses to answer questions about her role and intentions in the weeks leading up to her coup.
Meanwhile, the leader of the conservative opposition, Tony Abbott (a *very* conservative figure), sits there with a smile on his face, taking Napoleon's advice to heart. "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
Polls came out today, showing that while the electorate very much prefer Abbott to Gillard (43 to 34, with 23 unconfirmed), they *also* prefer Rudd to Abbott (48 to 40, with 12 unconfirmed).
It seems pretty straight forward. Going by these polls, if the Labor party wishes to retain power at the next election, they must pick Rudd. But many of the senior party members have spent the last few weeks ensuring that they would never be picked in a Rudd ministry ever again.
It seems that those of us who want adults in parliament are hoping in vain.
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