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The Daily Telegraph
March 26, 20139:52AM
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EASTER is about crisp nights in front of an open campfire, roasting marshmallows before dirt-streaked happy little faces are tucked into sleeping bags.
It’s about Easter-egg hunts and hot cross buns. It’s a holy time for churchgoers, and for others simply a blessed relief from work.
But at its core, on the Christian calendar, it’s a time of resurrection – of new life.
And as Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s team emerges from its rotten and broken egg they need to think about Labor’s new beginnings.
Ms Gillard may not have been nailed to the cross but Labor has been crucified.
As the newly emboldened Prime Minister gathers her freshly chosen team for a community cabinet tomorrow in Perth she will need to make significant changes.
What could she possibly do? How might a team of “last-picks” improve Labor’s chances? Even without a Judas in their ranks it will be tough.
Too much analysis is not necessarily good. Forget introspection and think tanks and committees and advice from foreign “experts”.
Just stop and chat to the real people on the streets and they will tell her the answer.
At school pick-up time, at the bus stop, at the community event or pub, at the ALP haunt or the sports match, the answers are remarkably similar.
Here’s what Ms Gillard’s team needs to give up for what’s left of Lent and onwards to election day:
1) Stabbing each other in the back.
2) Class warfare.
3) Burning business (Perth is a good place to start).
4) Attacks on superannuation.
5) Changes to parenting payments for low income earners.
For a leader so disliked for so long it is telling that Julia Gillard was more likeable than ever the day the knives were pointed in her direction.
When she stood up in parliament on Thursday with an unwavering voice and steely determination, we saw, once again, a leader with strength.
But it’s not enough to be at your best only when under attack, and when you are fighting for yourself, rather than for the country.
Switch off talkback radio for a moment and Ms Gillard is not hated with as much intensity as you’d expect. But there is despair over her failures. And there is despair over her shambolic divided team.
With Kevin Rudd sidelined and fewer distractions there is a real chance for the Prime Minister to take a leaf out of her own book and “take your best shot”. It may not be enough to win the next election, but just possibly to go out in a blaze of glory.
What do we want from Ms Gillard? To see her strength. For her to trust her instincts. To sell her achievements better. To speak from her heart, not from a script. She never really showed us the real Julia. What does she have to lose now?
Oh, but there’s advice in spades for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, too. Mr Abbott has an opportunity here to be a stark point of difference. He needs to rein in any temptation to jeer or over-play the moment. Fourth base is so close and the other team are scrambling for the ball. He needs to play it safe and strong.
Aside from calls for Malcolm Turnbull to step up to the plate, this is what people want from the Coalition:
1) Dignity and decency.
2) Respectful debate during question time.
3) Policies.
Politics going forward may have less intrigue and less theatre, but it’s about time the dull business of governing took centre stage.
No one will miss the blood-letting as they toast marshmallows around the campfire this weekend.
The Daily Telegraph
March 26, 20139:52AM
Increase Text Size
Decrease Text Size
Print
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EASTER is about crisp nights in front of an open campfire, roasting marshmallows before dirt-streaked happy little faces are tucked into sleeping bags.
It’s about Easter-egg hunts and hot cross buns. It’s a holy time for churchgoers, and for others simply a blessed relief from work.
But at its core, on the Christian calendar, it’s a time of resurrection – of new life.
And as Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s team emerges from its rotten and broken egg they need to think about Labor’s new beginnings.
Ms Gillard may not have been nailed to the cross but Labor has been crucified.
As the newly emboldened Prime Minister gathers her freshly chosen team for a community cabinet tomorrow in Perth she will need to make significant changes.
What could she possibly do? How might a team of “last-picks” improve Labor’s chances? Even without a Judas in their ranks it will be tough.
Too much analysis is not necessarily good. Forget introspection and think tanks and committees and advice from foreign “experts”.
Just stop and chat to the real people on the streets and they will tell her the answer.
At school pick-up time, at the bus stop, at the community event or pub, at the ALP haunt or the sports match, the answers are remarkably similar.
Here’s what Ms Gillard’s team needs to give up for what’s left of Lent and onwards to election day:
1) Stabbing each other in the back.
2) Class warfare.
3) Burning business (Perth is a good place to start).
4) Attacks on superannuation.
5) Changes to parenting payments for low income earners.
For a leader so disliked for so long it is telling that Julia Gillard was more likeable than ever the day the knives were pointed in her direction.
When she stood up in parliament on Thursday with an unwavering voice and steely determination, we saw, once again, a leader with strength.
But it’s not enough to be at your best only when under attack, and when you are fighting for yourself, rather than for the country.
Switch off talkback radio for a moment and Ms Gillard is not hated with as much intensity as you’d expect. But there is despair over her failures. And there is despair over her shambolic divided team.
With Kevin Rudd sidelined and fewer distractions there is a real chance for the Prime Minister to take a leaf out of her own book and “take your best shot”. It may not be enough to win the next election, but just possibly to go out in a blaze of glory.
What do we want from Ms Gillard? To see her strength. For her to trust her instincts. To sell her achievements better. To speak from her heart, not from a script. She never really showed us the real Julia. What does she have to lose now?
Oh, but there’s advice in spades for Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, too. Mr Abbott has an opportunity here to be a stark point of difference. He needs to rein in any temptation to jeer or over-play the moment. Fourth base is so close and the other team are scrambling for the ball. He needs to play it safe and strong.
Aside from calls for Malcolm Turnbull to step up to the plate, this is what people want from the Coalition:
1) Dignity and decency.
2) Respectful debate during question time.
3) Policies.
Politics going forward may have less intrigue and less theatre, but it’s about time the dull business of governing took centre stage.
No one will miss the blood-letting as they toast marshmallows around the campfire this weekend.