Finally finished an overseas stint with work, back home and back in touch with Australia once again. I was reading the Latham Diaries as I struggled to sleep somewhere over the Indian ocean early this morning. Latham serves up many damning observations about Beazley, particularly in the way he is a leader the 'machine men' can control (hence IR policy taking Australia back to the bad old days when the unions governed the nation through proxy). He also provides plenty of examples of how Beazley is not the 'all round nice bloke' that his image consultants have crafted over the years. Despite being a Liberal supporter, I could still appreciate the betrayl of Crean by Beazley as one of the true gutter moments of political power plays in the 21st century.
Wouldn't it be sweet poetic justice to see Beazley turfed out of the leadership before he gets the chance to contest his 3rd election? It would also be wonderful to see a premature run by 'Heavy Kevvie' that burns him out as a leader too early - a great thing for both the Labor party and Australia as a whole to see those two on parliamentary pensions. Latham's personal views on Rudd agree with my own and growing numbers in the electorate. He is a media tart, uninspiring leadership material that would sell his own mother to get ahead in the political game. It would not surprise me one iota to find out that his 'christian convictions' were nothing but a ruse to comment on a wide range of issues without being seen to overtly undermine his leader....
For the record I think Beazley will survive to be defeated for a third (and please God, final) time and further delay the necessary reformation that Labor must undergo to stay relevant to a decreasingly de-unionised electorate. Rudd is a good point scorer in parliament, but as a leader / manager myself, doesn't strike me as a potential leader.
