The adventures of K Rudd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI4ne0q5gKo&feature=related

And so now the number reports are increasing the that former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (you know, leader of the Government who had "lost it's way) is starting to count the numbers for a possible challenge for the leadership. Except it would seem that the only person backgrounding journalists is the current Prime Minister, Julia Gillard (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/julia-gillard-declares-no-way-to-kevin-rudds-gday-usa-trip/story-e6freuzr-1226144039303)

Prime Minister Julia Gillard knocked back a request for Kevin Rudd to
travel on a junket to the U.S in January to celebrate Australia week, it can
be revealed.

Big bloody deal. As it we're talking about a foreign minister who has easily spent more on overseas travel than the Prime Minister. $1,000,000 (http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/10252376/rudd-notches-up-1m-travel-bill/) in the first 9 months as foreign minister, in fact. But that's not the point. Being that Labor are much much better at hating and fighting themselves than their opponents, the gloves are off and Gillard has gone for the pre-emptive strike. "He's still a dickhead! See!"

But this is all irrelevant. The polls point to Rudd being more popular than Gillard or the currently preferred PM, Tony Abbott. So, a former disposed PM, the first ever PM to be shot down by hiw own party in his first term is suddenly popular again. Excuse me? Baking powder?


This is the man that brought such memorable phrases as "Programmatic specificity", "fair suck of the sauce bottle", "Political shitstorm" and "gee that Howard's a real c#nt isn't he?". More to the point, he brought us the 2020 summit (remember that?), endless committees and reviews instead of policy solutions, the pink batts saga which killed people, billion dollar pergolas, the first budget deficit since '96 of course the endless moralising about mining taxes and climate change, only to cave in at the last minute to political reality. This guy couldn't sell ice to the eskimoes. And this is my overarching point. Forget the policy direction - he refused bed down an idea slowly, debate it in public and then implement it. Instead it was all about announcements for the 6pm news which would garner more surprise than support from the public, and then fade away as quickly as it they were announced. Governments with real ideals and goals don't let policies come and go so quickly. They argue, fight and rationalise BEFORE they are implemented.
I understand that most people are probably sick and tired of the endless negativity coming out of Canberra. "Worst government in history!", "All the opposition says is no!" "Burp!" (courtesy of Rob Oakshott). But at the same time, members of the left intelligista complain that "the major parties have never been closer". What absolute bunkum. With asylum seeker policy, the economy, infrastructure spending, foreign relations etc etc the difference is as stark as it's ever been. But the back to the point - suddenly Rudd looks good again. Nevermind that he was badly advised (as is the current PM) or that he couldn't even handle the politics of his policy, let alone the policies themselves. Hindsight is always 20/20; but everyone knows he's just a throwback to the same directionless government but with a different head. So why the nostalgia for Kruddy?

Politics is at it's lowest ebb. A left wing Prime Minister who flaunts supposed conservative values vs a populist impersonator that is doing the exact same thing Labor did during the opposition years - refusing to work out what his party stands for.
Even Paul Keating would be looking good in comparison.

(Incidentally When Keating was asked this week about the currrent treasurer, Wayne Swan, winning the Euromoney finance minister of the year award (something Keating won in '84) his reply was "Fuck off to buggery".)