Julia Gillard 's rise to become Australia's 27th prime minister and first female prime minister is an extraordinary achievement. Now we wait to see how she'll perform in the role. I thought she made a damn good start in her interview on The 7.30 Report tonight - she handled Kerry O'Brien's sensationalist questions expertly. As far as I'm concerned at the moment, what matters is how she'll handle policy, not what may or may not have been said in private conversations between her and Kevin Rudd.
Meanwhile, in other news, the longest professional tennis match ever is currently taking place at Wimbledon! On any other day, that would have received first billing. Even on a day like today, the mind-boggling stats are worth a look.
About Me
- Russell Blackford
- Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019); AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021); and HOW WE BECAME POST-LIBERAL: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOLERATION (2024).
6 comments:
She sorted Kezza out beautifully, and even left him speechless on a couple of occasions.
It's such a relief to again have a Prime Minister with a sense of humour. It's been far too long a wait.
Haven't seen the O'Brien piece, but watching her brush aside Tracy 'I'm a journalist, not a sensationalist' Grimshaw' gave the impression that she (Gillard) was just idling and couldn't be bothered even giving more than a half-arsed response. Which is all 'A current Affair' deserves.
I'm glad Krudd is gone. The only good thing I can say about him is he was better than Howard. He pretty much let the side down from day dot as PM. I hope Gillard will do a good job. She comes across as a straight talker who's got a brain but isn't a wonk like Krudd. Certainly she give the impression of being honest. She'd have to start barbequeing babies to lose to the dark monk I'd reckon. Still, never expect too much from politicians. Never expect them to be too idealistic or honest. They'll go the way of Turnbull if they are, or the way of Krudd if they're to mendacious or poll chasing. Let's hope she can tread the fine line. Still, it's great that a non-barbie doll, serious, gregarious (in my opinion) woman is boss!
I'll enjoy it, and hopefully reality doesn't dissapoint too much.
What's sensationalist about O'Brien's questions? About the plotters? Is not that the simple reality in the political engine room?
I like Rudd. He did very well considering the times. Australia defied the collapsed in world trade. The country is considered the best economic perfomer despite the recession.
Change, reform will always be met with resistance. Rudd was brave enough to try to do that.
A great day for Australia, no doubt about it. I do feel sad for Kevin though. He did do a fine job and was basically fenced in by his own errors of judgment and lack of factional allegiance.
I noted in some articles and the letters to The Australian this morning that many people are saying 'we didn't vote for Julia is PM!'
We do not have a president, we vote for a party through our local representative. The party then chooses who will be the PRIME Minister. This can change in the same way that an opposition changes leaders.
I was amused to hear Abbott's comments regarding what took place. You Tony? How did you become leader? Minchin, Robb, Pyne and co. That's how.
Julia will win the next election - simply, and she will do it with the tax reform of the minining industry - which has been a long time coming. The Liberals kept everything low for the minors as they are major Liberal party sponsors (conflict of interest anyone)
As for the tennis -- bloody brilliant stuff if you asked me. That is what the game is about, neither man wanted to lose and they played like demons to stay in the game. These guys will become legends of the game. True legends
Off topic post. Russell, I've dipped my toe back into the world of blogging. I'm trying to get an overview of the accommodation debate. I hope that you don't mind that I'll be using your blog as a resource and representing you as a prominent anti-accommodationist amongst others.
http://accommodationwatch.blogspot.com
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