Julia Gillard has now publicly and explicitly identified the reasons Kevin Rudd could not continue as PM. His administrative incompetence was a primary difficulty. These reasons have long been recognised but Gillard’s public expression of them, and attacks on Rudd by senior ministers in the government, make Rudd an impossible choice as alternative PM. Gillard’s already low electoral appeal has been further weakened by the bizarre recent events – the impression is of a government which is out of control. Labor has destroyed its already feeble prospects of being returned at the next poll and fed the Liberal Party with ammunition it can direct at Labor for the next decade.
Update: Graham Richardson sees the choice as between a current and past failure. I am certain about Rudd being a past failure but less sure about his assessment of Gillard. His conclusion – that the Labor Party faces a disastrous future I agree with.
This is all about the internal struggle going on inside the ALP as the union movement loses it’s traditional power. There is a fair amount of hyperbole being tossed around about Rudd. He is not as incapable and psychopathic as his former colleagues are making out. Difficult to work with perhaps, chaotic under pressure, but certainly not unique in the history of political leaders. The attacks on Rudd wouldn’t have needed to be made if he was so self-evidently incapable of leading the party. The attacks have also been made through the media and aimed at the public who will not be voting on Monday anyway. The people who will however be voting already know Rudd, so if it was true then he wouldn’t pose any kind of threat.
The ALP is certainly damaging itself but probably not permanently. Memories in politics are short so it will probably be sorted out in time for the next election. The liberals have plenty of internal tensions of their own that will have to be dealt with before the next election. The whole thing is a bit of a beat up.
Michael, I think the current squabbles go well beyond the long-running issues surrounding the roll of the trade unions in Labor – these were around when I was an undergraduate in the early 1970s. There are considerable administrative and personal skills necessary tomes the divergent interests of Labor and Rudd does not have these. His mouth too frequently runs ahead of his brain which means he is ultimately not convincing and untrustworthy. The memories about Labor’s leadership ineptitudes will only be forgotten if the next Coalition Government – now a near certainty – really screws up. That’s on the cards.