Well, yes, of course I do. I might enjoy giving them the occasional kick, especially when they're down because when they're up that could be a dodgy thing to do, but the fact is that I do have an underlying affection for them. And after reading this hatchet piece on The Spectator site by an un-named author then I can only say that if half of it is true then I weep for Australia. Actually, it is not so much a 'hatchet job' as a full-blown dismemberment job leaving Mr. Rudd, the current Prime Minister and leader of their Labour party, in various bloodied pieces strewn across an abattoir. Well, he's a politician so he deserves nothing less but even so:
The centre of the dysfunction is not simply his ruthless political ambition —
and the treachery, betrayal and frantic 24-7 mindset that go with it — although
that trait certainly explains why so many of his colleagues have resigned from
the cabinet ministry and/or parliament (see below).
Nor is the root of his problem his longing to be all things to all people.
Most of what depresses and even disgusts people about Mr Rudd now was visible in 2007 when he ran against John Howard. His salient characteristics were trickery and fakery, the chameleon appeal to all sides at once, which helped him persuade the so-called Howard Battlers to come home to Labor without being embarrassed to tell their mates they were doing so.
For goodness sake, stop beating about the bush and tell it the way it is - is not the first phrase that leaps to mind! Also, one wonders, given that he has just succeeded in ousting Julia Gillard, than whom etc, etc, how bad was she if they prefer Kevin Rudd? The anonymous author does not say but continues to drive multiple stakes through Mr. Rudd's political body in the vain hope that one of them will actually find his heart:
But there is another explanation for the Rudd dysfunction: self-gratification
taken to an extreme, an obsession with always being the centre of attention —
like a spoiled child — and an addiction to being in the media spotlight. In our
therapeutic age, perhaps we could call this pattern of behaviour megalomaniac or
sociopathic, but perhaps these words go too far in pretending medical precision.
To describe the same phenomenon, the ancient Greeks coined the word hubris.
'Strewth, as they say 'down under there', subtle innuendo is obviously not an Aussie trait. Well, they have an election coming up and so, like the rest of us, they will have to live by the result. In the meantime, memo to self: must read more Aussie blogs if only for the entertainment value. Actually, I'm a bit narked because this blog takes pride in its occasional rudeness to politicians but, dammit, once again some Aussie has done it better!
I told you he was a prick.
Posted by: dearieme | Wednesday, 24 July 2013 at 14:22
Gor blimey, DM, you're soundin' more like an Aussie ev'ry day!
Posted by: David Duff | Wednesday, 24 July 2013 at 14:36
Rudd and Obama cut from the same cloth
Posted by: missred | Wednesday, 24 July 2013 at 20:25
A rather grubby dish cloth, I assume!
Posted by: David Duff | Wednesday, 24 July 2013 at 20:30
Malcolm Turnbull is possibly the only one of a very, very bad bunch who'd be capable of running Australia.
The only problem I have with him is that he is obsesssed with changing the country into a republic.
I'm quite sure this will happen in the fullness of time but there are a hell of a lot of other things that need attention first.
Apart from that, they're all wankers!
Posted by: Andra | Wednesday, 24 July 2013 at 21:29
"Apart from that, they're all wankers!"
In a nutshell, Andra.
Posted by: David Duff | Thursday, 25 July 2013 at 08:43