As someone who were sympathetic towards Rudd although supporting a continuation of Gillard as PM, let me tell you that Rudd has lost all the respect I once held for him. I cannot believe you still think he is fighting against the “faceless men”. He is only picking this line as a plot to increase his appeal to the public. He is doing this for himself and he doesn’t mind dragging Labor’s brand through mud while doing so. With him, it is now clear that there is no cabinet in a Rudd cabinet, it is all about Kevin, Kevin and Kevin.
After the evidence of him undermining the government (Note, not just Julia Gillard, the government) was made public I fail to see how any one would want this man anywhere near the lodge.

St Kilda is actually rather affluent, though no doubt Fitzroy Street attracts its share of detritus. However, its seedy reputation always struck me as being a hangover from an earlier era. Despite what Paul Kelly (the singer) led me to believe, Kings Cross it ain’t.

The Kings Cross/Potts Point area is similarly affluent.

I really wish Kevin had put the party first.

Err that is what he is doing, regardless of motive.

Kev is putting the party first really, the battle for control of the party against the faceless men. If he wins they will take a severe battering and their influence greatly harmed.

The hard battle you see going on attacking Rudd in outrageous terms is those silent party power brokers fighting for their life. This isn’t Gillard -v- Rudd.

Rudd wins then in the future decisions of Govt might be entirely made by and in Cabinet without having to kow tow to the demands of these people. This is why they hate Rudd.

These guys who went to Rudd when he was PM demanding stuff or else, he told them to FO. So the meme…Rudd treats all caucus badly (err not really, only the thugs got the real treatment).

People hoping for Gillard to win are hoping for a continuance of a system that allows a few people to knife a PM when they feel like it, or control a PM through implied threat if they feel like it, and they do.

Greensborough Growler
Posted Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 1:50 am | Permalink

GD,

You are being very kind to me tonght.

Thank you.

Merit when it’s due. I remember back to the revolt. It was really the most shocking thing and I could not understand Gillard’s decision suddenly to change. It went against her character and, of course, undermined some of her credibility after being so publicly firm against such a move.

I reluctantly gave her the benefit because I had long admired her. It seems clear now that the chaos occurring at ministerial and administrative levels ultimately left her with no choice. It was becoming unworkable and the party was tearing itself apart – a terrible outcome for a first-term government.

In the sparring on the blog I do remember that you and fredn were very critical of the action at the time. But later as things started to get done in very difficult circumstances, you two were among the first to understand that – that we had a PM that was a nation-builder who was getting some great things in place. The level of difficulty did not seem to matter. She proved the point that politics is the art of the possible.

Until the Rudd whiteanting reached its current climax (4C I/V was the ultimate stuff up! Really?! It was just another bit of media entrails-gazing, fed by … guess. I still remain dismayed at the public broadcaster being dragged into such cheap gotchas. And that was supposed to prove she had no judgement and was underhanded!), I had remained very confident about Oct 2013. The other side is a black hole. Our side will have some great programs in place and still be a world-leading economy.

The psephs and a few of the more astute observers here have said she cannot recover from all the direct hits she’s taken. They may be right. But that view doesn’t seem to take into account that Gillard has always aimed at the longer game. Nor that she has firmly digested the last election campaign review, which was that Labor must have values and stand for some things, rather than slither and wither in the media and polls reaction.

We shall see, comrade. As for the immediate situation, I like the fact that Gillard has remained aloof from the groundfire. Even if the aftermath is a Ruddbath I’d expect that to continue.

The major problem – one of the major problems, for there are several – one of many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.

To summarize: it is a well-known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.

People are posting on the new thread. You may not want to thoigh. It is the Gillard v Rudd thread