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.