Mood:
d'ohTopic: election Oz 2007
Picture: Peter Costello looking rather prime ministerial in Parliament today and PM Howard suffering relevance deprivation syndrome and pique? And see picture at 2.57pm or so below.
On one level Peter Costello might be accused of lying about what was said back in 2005 to 3 senior journalists about pulling the leadership of John Howard down.
But on a far more serious and real politik level Costello is presenting himself as the one who was going to deliver the Coalition colleagues from the constant dismal polls now. "We can win, he can't" is a very cutting appraisal whether Costello owns the words allegedly made in 2005 or not. They resonate because of the stabilising of the dismal polls.
That it was Costello, but for Howard staying as PM, that was going to save their bacon with his superior economic credentials, in an echo of Paul Keating as ex Treasurer then PM for the ALP in the close tough 1993 election (?).
Picture: PM John Howard leaves his seat just as Peter Costello launches a quite impacting "it takes bravery" speech on economic and policy achievements, scorning the emotional violence implicit in the Opposition ALP attack seeking to generate dissension if not a whole leadership spill. Be careful what they wish for? A rampant Costello turning the polls around in 3 months?
Picture: Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd ascendant in the polls over the Coalition seeks to have the last word on a speech arguing 'arrogant, decaying, selfish, inward looking, energy sapped, losing touch' government. In short the stock standard poison. But what makes it dangerous is not the rhetoric as such but the dismal polls.
In summary both sides argue the other side is presenting a false face, the Opposition alleged lack of economic policy credentials, the Government alleged lack policy integrity/initiative on the most serious issues. Alot of truth in both claims making the power grasping two party system even more broken than most already know it is. Bring on a third Green force at the least.
Looks like a hard grinding election to the wire.
