Apologies to any NSW readers who injured themselves falling off the stool at this headline, but just indulge for a bit. There is a basic misconception about the way the political situation in NSW is being discussed, prompted by the latest Newspoll that shows the NSW government has fallen behind (and attempts by The Australian to stretch it to a nationwide trend for state Labor by making a big deal out of minor poll movements in other states).
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What on earth is wrong with the political journalists in this country? Here we have a naked political power play going on in front of our eyes and they miss it. Almost the entire discussion around Belinda Neal has been irrelevant because it misses the central point. Rudd-Gillard’s humiliation of her by sending her to therapy for anger management was not done for her benefit or because her behaviour at the Iguana club was a major embarrassment for the Rudd government. It was done because of who her husband is. Read more »
Moments of stupidity
The ALP on the Central Coast has never been able to attract decent candidates. Mousy librarians and showbiz-struck teachers have been the authentic face of the party in an area where Labor is the default vote and a halfway decent candidate with a bit of go could make the sort of career that inner-city aspirants have to bite and claw and scratch for. Your standard Labor
No guts or glory at the coffee club
This article shows that reforming the Liberal Party requires strength, determination and vision that is currently lacking in that organisation. The NSW Libs now have no chance of holding their ground in the 2009/10 Federal election, let alone advancing their position. They will not win the 2011 State election either. I would have liked to see not only Iemma
If there is one iron law of internal Labor politics it is that if you need to take it to Conference to win an argument, you have already lost it. That union leaders have needed to rely on delegates to embarrass Iemma over his privatisation plans shows less their resurgence than that they have already lost control over the party leadership.
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As the media continues to portray the Rudd government as the most popular ever to stumble from crisis to crisis, it is clear that something has happened to the media’s relationship with the government. Since the Budget, its honeymoon with the government is clearly over, even if the electorate’s isn’t.
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Having sent the wife off to therapy for anger management, it looks like the Rudd-Gillard team is about to deal with the husband. The Australian reports that the Federal Labor leadership is set to get its way and the Iemma government will overturn Della Bosca’s opposition to centralising IR to Canberra and abolish his department. Read more »
O'Farrell steps up
If someone leading the NSW State Parliamentary Liberal Party really wants to be Premier, the first victory they must win is not in the party room, but over the Liberal Party organisation.
John Carrick was General Secretary of the NSW Division of the Liberal Party, the equivalent of today's State Director, from 1948 to 1971. As a campaigner he was a one-trick pony, hammering
In the short term
When (If?) wondering what the Liberals are up to, never mind Brendan Nelson. He is the symptom of a wider malaise, not the cause and definitely not the cure.
The Budget handed down last week was the sort of muddle you'd expect from the middle of a third term from an exhausted government. It was the opposite of a bold declaration of intent, and no momentum can be created from
Stoop to conquer
What the Liberals need to do federally is to ditch aspects of Howard's intellectual and moral inertia while preserving above all else his reputation for economic competence.
The question of leadership is, who can best do this?
The current leader, Brendan Nelson, is not the man to shake up anyone or anything. Once the patient is stabilised and able to sign out of hospital, the
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