Another election...
July 13th 2010 04:57
Well, I'm back from my little sojourn in the country and contemplating the Oz political scene with fresh eyes. And what I see is an election coming up, and a dull one at that.
Gillard is clearing the decks by succumbing to pressure from the people who actually run the country (big business) and the ever-fearful electorate (immigration) so Labor can squeak back into office.
This is a very unexciting election. The relief and hope of getting rid of Howard has dissipated and Labor under Gillard looks to be even less interesting than it was under Rudd. And if, heaven forfend, Abbott were to win, years of vicious right-wing rule would ensue. So not much to stir the blood there.
Perhaps the most interesting thing will be watching how the Greens adapt to having some real power. Brown looks increasingly like a real leader, and if they can stay tight the Greens might gain some real political cred. Brown joked the other day about a Green government being a long way off, but an ALP-Green coalition might not be.
Coming up with some kind of Global Warming policy will have a lot to do with how things pan out. In reality the Libs have a huge problem here and the Abbott experiment may be a last hurrah from them as a major player. Oz has to change direction to deal with GW and peak oil, and so far the Libs have shown nothing at state or federal level to suggest they have any real ideas. If Labor don't get smart (and their very ordinary political personnel suggest that they won't), then the Greens could claim a whole chunk of the political spectrum.
Gillard is clearing the decks by succumbing to pressure from the people who actually run the country (big business) and the ever-fearful electorate (immigration) so Labor can squeak back into office.
This is a very unexciting election. The relief and hope of getting rid of Howard has dissipated and Labor under Gillard looks to be even less interesting than it was under Rudd. And if, heaven forfend, Abbott were to win, years of vicious right-wing rule would ensue. So not much to stir the blood there.
Coming up with some kind of Global Warming policy will have a lot to do with how things pan out. In reality the Libs have a huge problem here and the Abbott experiment may be a last hurrah from them as a major player. Oz has to change direction to deal with GW and peak oil, and so far the Libs have shown nothing at state or federal level to suggest they have any real ideas. If Labor don't get smart (and their very ordinary political personnel suggest that they won't), then the Greens could claim a whole chunk of the political spectrum.
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