What caught this blogger out was that the Labor factions still had some life in them. But now that they are back in charge, it is reassuring to see that they do not after all.

‘Revival’ is too strong a word, but the Victorian Liberals did achieve at least a partial solution to a very important problem.

No doubt there are still those idealistic youth willing to jump to action fired up by the commitment to, er, save the Australian economy from the devastating consequences of climate change.

The reform pantomime

Thursday, 4 November 2010   State of the parties   21 comments 

There was a time when reform didn’t used to be such a fashionable word.

Clarity on military conflict is not an option for a Coalition leader.

Stay at home

Thursday, 7 October 2010   International relations   13 comments 

The press are not really making much of this, but Abbott’s gaffe over Afghanistan is probably a major blow to his leadership inside the party.

If it was really about stability they could have forced another election where the odds would have been that the finely split balance of the current Parliament would not have been repeated.

Softball

Tuesday, 28 September 2010   State of the parties   13 comments 

There is an intriguing little experiment underway at the moment in Australian politics, far more interesting than the quagmire currently dressed up as a new paradigm.

The consequences of Labor losing government for Gillard, and the power brokers who put there, are unthinkable and Labor will be desperate to cling to power and is likely to be blind to the dangers it will bring.

It is likely that whichever party forms government with the independents, they will use those independents as a cover for not being able to implement a program that they never had in the first place.

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