NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, not really. But the entire front bench of the Opposition has been suspended after Rudd and Gillard made a bid for the Labour Party leadership against Opposition Leader Kim Beazley. Both seem to think they will give a fresh start for labour, and I think most Labour voters and the country at large agree. Such a different point of view and angle from Labour going into Federal elections next year may give Labour the edge to finally get Howard out. They have a variety of issues to go after the govt on, including interest rates, Iraq, etc. What I actually like about Rudd is that he is interested in issues of social justice, far left from the mainstream labour.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20858425-5005941,00.html

So Australians and Labour voters, do you support this proposed new leadership?

It could hardly be worse.

Rudd is very switched on.. I worry he might intimidate a lot of voters.. he does come across as a little too high brow sometimes. He still has the snobbish appearance that Downer has.. but he actually appears to have the smarts to go with it.. which Downer certainly seems to be lacking.

Gillard is great.. a little bit conservative for my likes but having a hard nosed woman on your front bench won't be doing labour any harm.

More power to em. I thought putting Beazley back in again was madness.. but perhaps he soaked up any bad feeling the electorate had towards labour and the clean sweep will be welcomed. And if they manage the overthrow they might even have some time for the electorate to get to know them before the election which could be of some benefit as opposed to last time where the less they knew about Latham the better :)

Rudd isnt as crude and is far more sofisticated about his speaking from Beazley, I dont think many people liked Beazleys shouting 'working class' attitude he had.

I would support Gillard, but I think having a leftist female who supports legal abortion as Deputy PM scares the crap out of some politicians.

It does feel like a new start though.

Rudd isnt as crude and is far more sofisticated about his speaking from Beazley, I dont think many people liked Beazleys shouting 'working class' attitude he had.

I would support Gillard, but I think having a leftist female who supports legal abortion as Deputy PM scares the crap out of some politicians.

It does feel like a new start though.

We already have legal abortion don't we?? Supporting an already implemented legislation hardly seems like a rebelious way out left field position....

EDIT ok not exactly legal.. "Australian abortion laws are typically vague and open to interpretation" (http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/BHCV2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Abortion_in_Australia?OpenDocument)

I'm not a Beazley fan and would prefer to see Rudd in power, but........

Now is not the time. We're heading into an election, and the last thing we need is instability. Labor did this last time with Latham - brought him in too close to the election and didn't give him time to establish himself and gain the electorate's trust.

Although, to be honest I'd rather see Bob Brown become prime minister than Beazley or Rudd...

Although Australia is probably far too macho for it, I have to say I wouldnt mind a Gillard Opposition leader.

I have my fingers tightly crossed that Rudd is Labor leader well before the next election. I don't dislike Beazley, in fact have a lot of respect for him, however Rudd's chances of defeating little jonnie at the next election are much better than his and it is time Beazley realised that and moves out of the way.

The quicker and smoother a transition like this happens, the better for the party. The last thing Labor need is yet another vicious leadership battle that does nothing but destabilise the party and give the Liberals lots of ammunition to use against them in the press, while diverting the minds of the sheep portion of the voting public away from their own scandals and problems.

I have always liked Gillard, and because she has such a strong but friendly personality, I believe she would come across as a great candidate for the leadership.

Rudd, on the other hand, is a little too much like one of them filthy Libs to me... Still, both HAVE to be better than Beazely, who quite simply has no appeal to the voters anymore.

I have always liked Gillard, and because she has such a strong but friendly personality, I believe she would come across as a great candidate for the leadership.

Rudd, on the other hand, is a little too much like one of them filthy Libs to me... Still, both HAVE to be better than Beazely, who quite simply has no appeal to the voters anymore.

Yeah go to agree with you there.. dispite Rudd's politics lying squarely in the labour camp he sure looks like a snooty Lib. I think that could really work to his disadvantage. Whereas I feel Gillard really could get the respect of the traditional Labour vote.

Remember, in politics, you don't have to be good, you just have to be better than the other guy. Beazley has looked like a bumbling fool, with early onset dementia recently. Messing up Aussie icons is always bad.

Johnnie is on the nose, especially as interest rates have risen when he implied they wouldn't, and Iraq gets uglier every day. Beazley was so crap, he probably still would have lost.

Rudd and Gillard just need to say nothing and let Johnnie lose, instead of doing what Latham did. Put out all these policies and try to win.

A coup in OZ????

Did the Wicked witch finally overthrow linda the good witch? :p

7-2-16-1:fluffle: