Rudderless.... Hoist on his own Gillard

Listened to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0fsWZRc-Ek and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdIIB9rT8Ng  above.
Haven’t experienced such intense and shameful Schadenfreude before........
He not only speaks mandarin, but is the quintessential mandarin.  He needs subtitles even when speaking English.
I heard the following as he moved his lips.....

“You ungrateful bastards. You will look back and weep ! Listen to all that I am proud of. Note that "I" am proud. I only use "we" in the "royal" sense.
Look how smart am I. You wouldn't have the faintest idea of what I know.
Let me make myself cry over the wonderful memories of my “we” achievements. See I cry therefore I am human !
I now demonstrated incontestably that this is the best government you'll ever get ! How ? By reiterating my facts... not just anyone’s fact’s .... MY facts !!
Small (very small) PS. Thanks to everyone who has been blessed with the opportunity to work themselves into an early grave for “we”. They are the best.... if only in retrospect.
Look at my family. God blessed me with the best and, god knows, I deserve it.
Thinks: At the moment, I am not the leader of the labor party but I AM THE PRIMEMINISTER.... pity I am not Commander in Chief .... ”

Watch the video and see if I am wrong....

Why be so hard on Rudd ?

Rudd embodies many of what I considered to be the worst attributes in a politician:

• extremely autocratic personal style of government that belies any sincere commitment to real democracy
• disregard for the welfare of those who work directly for and with him that belies any sincere commitment to the welfare and rights of “working families”
• barely disguised contempt for the people that he seeks to rule
• lack of commitment to a coherent value set. Merely an intellectual ability to justify policy within the shallow confines of public debate

Of less importance

• Smug, supercilious personality

Along with many of the “Rusted on Labor Voters” that we know well, this opposition does not extend to all policies that he espoused.  I voted for him because of his industrial relations promises and got at least some of what I wanted.

I am also very supportive of milking any “excessive” profits from any industry.... and especially one that already get huge governmental support through infrastructure etc etc etc. BUT that does not mean that the mining tax was proposed to actually benefit the Australian people.

I think that this objective was merely a side benefit to the main objective of creating a bogeyman that might unite the pro labor forces again under white knight Kevin. Far better economic results could have been obtained with steady incremental taxation increases and other techniques that would not have enabled the mining sector to raise a ripple of support from the Australian community.

Heads of government in Australian culture carry little prestige and much contempt – truly “Hollow Men”.

To change one is a frequent occurrence in opposition and quite frequent in government... just not usually in a first term. No great social instability is likely to result.

Gillard has started well for me in cancelling the government propaganda and making some declarations about population etc. Whether she lasts beyond the next election will of course depend on the result. I think that she is almost certain to win (and may even get my vote !) and hope that she may develop into a true leader despite the years of experience in the Victorian and national spin industry.

Stephen Digby