THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS

‘Kevin Rudd’s behaviour is that of a suicide bomber.’ 

Andrew Bolt, MTR Radio, Thursday 23^rd February, 2012.

More like a spoilt child that’s throwing a tantrum until he gets his way.

I don’t think we’ve seen such an exciting period in Australia politics before: two people so hell bent on power, they will let nothing stand in their way to attain it.

No one saw Rudd’s resignation from his role as Minister for Foreign Affairs coming.  No one.

It was brilliant.

It also opens the door to so many possibilities, that it’s now anyone’s guess as to what will happen.  Let’s have a look at a couple of scenarios:

So, Rudd resigns, in what the media and political experts are calling ‘a declaration of open warfare’ against the woman, backed by the ‘faceless men’ of the caucus, which orchestrated his removal from the role he had coveted and lorded for so long. 

Gillard’s in a vulnerable position in the polls because she’s simply made disastrous decision after disastrous decision, and only has herself (and her advisors) to blame.  She can’t point the finger at Rudd for the polls; it’s her own fault.

Something that Rudd will no doubt take great pleasure in pointing out.  He will declare himself the only hope the Australian Labor Party has at defeating Tony Abbott and those terrible, demonic Liberals at the next election; freeing this country from their tyrannical rule. 

Thank God we have K Rudd!  He will save us all!  How did we cope without him? 

Easily.  Surely our memories are not that short…

So, he’s now free to make a move at the caucus meeting next Monday morning, which will see a lot of bloodshed, whatever way the vote swings.  He has the bomb rigged; he’ll be in the middle of the room, ready and willing to blow them all to hell.  Including himself.

You see, if he doesn’t win the caucus ballot (which experts are saying he may not), then he is in the perfect position to enact revenge against the people that knifed him.

He can resign from politics, or resign from the ALP, and sit in parliament as an independent.

Big deal? No great loss?  Not really, for sure.  However, that will force a bi-election in his seat, which the ALP will probably lose, and narrow the parliamentary margin the government has.  The ALP will be right back to where they were before Slippery Pete crossed the floor and became the speaker of the house.

Then all the pressure falls back on the Independents: Wilke, Oakshott and Windsor; not to forget Mr Bandt from the Greens.  A very clever Ms Gillard convinced some of these men to ally with the ALP to give them the majority to form government, on the proviso that she was the Prime Minister.

Windsor famously said that by tying his vote to this condition, he was securing stability in the government, thus enabling them to focus on the mission they were intrusted with: governing the country.  Incident like the knifing of Kevin Rudd will never happen again, he said.

Someone tell him he’s dreamin’.  He clearly doesn’t understand the mechanics of the ALP.

Wonder what he’s thinking right now?  Possibly the same as every other independent and ALP member in the house: if this government falls over, we’re out of a job.

If K Rudd wins the ballot and is restored as leader/Prime Minister, every person sitting on the front bench of the ALP government will be in the firing line.  We will see such a clean sweep of the government, that it will be frightening. 

Particularly Wayne Swan.  Last night, Swan issued such a scathing statement against Rudd, stating he was a ‘deeply flawed man’, who was ‘disloyal to the Labor cause, to the Labor movement, to the movement which put him in the Parliament and expected better of him.’  He stated that Mr Rudd was ‘dysfunctional in his decision making’ and had a ‘deeply demeaning attitude towards other people, including our caucus colleagues’.

This from a man who not only helped Rudd become the ALP Leader, and subsequently, the Prime Minister, but cites Rudd as the godfather to one of his children.

Swan must be feeling quite confident about Monday’s ballot to issue this statement…

We’ll see some of the backbenchers and K Rudd supporters step into the leadership roles, and the Gillard cabinet will be banished to the backbenches, and sulk like the naughty little children that they are.  Wouldn’t be surprised if some of them resigned.

May not be a bad thing.  We’ve been calling for a change of government, and maybe this could be it?  Some new blood; new talent in the ministry that may change the face of the nation; steer us away from the financial black hole we’re teetering on the cusp of.

A confident Rudd will champion the ALP cause into the next election, where I fear he will still lose, because the damage is done and the voters have a long memory.

Building an Education Revolution, Pink Bats, $900 handouts that only a fool would think wouldn’t bite us in the arse… hope you’re enjoying your Chinese made plasma.  I know I am.

Of course, Rudd won’t resign his seat or his political affiliations.  If he did so, he would never be able to attain the heights he so desperately covets: the Prime Ministership.  He must be a member of a major party to have any chance of this, and I can’t see him joining the Liberals in a hurry.

I’ve never seen a political party so divided.  There is a massive split between the green ALP members and the blue, more traditional ALP members, and it’s fuelled by pure hatred.

It’s no longer about  ruling the country; it’s about clinging to power, and that’s what will be in the forefront of every ALP caucus member’s mind come 10am Monday morning.  This is a vote for their future, not the future of the country. 

Remember that next time you vote.

They are fighting for survival, and the Liberals will be lovin’ it.  If they’re smart, they’ll get so much political mileage out of this debacle, that it will last them the next ten elections.  All they have to do now is sit back and watch the ALP self-destruct.  It will be the easiest week in Big Tony’s political career, because all he has to do is smile and kiss a couple of babies.

Of course, let’s not forget the vultures in the back ground.  Mr Crean came out yesterday and slammed Mr Rudd for his behaviour, and declared his support for the Prime Minister.  He was like a hyped up school kid screaming ‘Kick it to me! Kick it to me!’  I’m tipping he won’t be in a job if Rudd gets back in.  However, he must be confident that’s not going to happen…

Then there’s my favourite; Bill Shorten.  Declaring his support for the Prime Minister; sitting at her heels like an obedient, loving pup, all the while quietly sharpening his knives in the background.  He knows the time is not right for him to step in. Not yet.  It would be political suicide.

No, he’ll wait until they’ve lost the next election, and the ALP is looking for a fresh, non-Gillard/Rudd face to lead them.  That’s where he’ll step in.  That’s when he’ll win the prize he’s been seeking for so long.

Shame no one can stand the dodgy little fucker.

So we’re left with Gillard and Rudd; two people who have proven their complete incompetence at leading this great nation, fighting over the right to do so. 

At this point, I feel sorry for the ALP, because not only have they lost their way, but they really have no one to lead them home.  If their choices are Rudd and Gillard, then it’s clearly an issue of selecting the lesser of two evils.

You’ve had your chance, and you’ve failed.  Call an election, and let’s get this shit over with so we can fix the mess you’ve created, which I will point out, will take years.

‘If you can’t govern yourselves, how can you be expected to govern a country?’

Bob Hawke.

Peace out.