I wonder what it means
to have a good Labor heart;
does she beat with steady rhythm,
or does she stop and start?
Would she race, when faced,
with a good, Labor agenda?
Or is she close to breaking,
and there’s nothing that can mend her?
Treasurer Wayne Swan released a statement last night slandering Kevin Rudd, who has just resigned as Australia’s Foreign Minister while abroad in Washington.
Swan’s negative, personal attack on a colleague is not particularly noteworthy, given the current tone of political debate in Australia. What is interesting, however, is his gentle invocation of a loving mother figure in Prime Minister Gillard.
A far cry from the “barren”, spinster-ish character who coldly disposed of Rudd in taking the Prime Minister’s office, Swan alludes to Gillard’s “heart” not once, but twice. He said she has “a good Labor heart” and “has always known in her heart … something Kevin Rudd has never understood”.
If we see it Swan’s way, Labor will be left with a choice at its leadership ballot on Monday between Kevin – an apparently arrogant, self-important control freak – and the loving, open-hearted, patriotic Julia.
We don’t need to create caricatures of our politicians – they do it for us.
February 23rd, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Not to mention the media is loving this drama and milking it for all its worth.
February 23rd, 2012 at 10:26 pm
Ol’ Phillip Adams made an interesting point tonight, which is that Kevvy’s probably hoping Julia will win the ballot, seeing as neither of them is likely to win the next election now.
February 24th, 2012 at 11:04 pm
If everything goes to timetable, it will be nearly 2 years til the next election. That’s a long, long time in pollitics, as David Marr on Lateline mentioned again tonight. Julia will win because Kev just doesn’t have the numbers. So it might give Labor time to actually recover and ‘get the job done’ so to speak.