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The Debate: It's a draw
Calling the outcome of a debate is such a subjective thing, because each individual will use a different basis for making his or her ultimate judgement, but on balance I think the debate was a draw.
No, it's not that I’m trying to sit on the fence it’s just that neither leader revealed anything new; or departed from their respective mantras from the opening week of the campaign and neither made any gaffes that are likely to turn the course of the election.
It didn’t provide any real insights into either individual and it was all fairly respectful, workmanlike and safe. On that basis I call it a draw.
Television studio audiences, who were in control of the so called 'worm' scored it a massive win for Julia Gillard, with overwhelming support from women and most of the commentariat scored it a narrow win for Tony Abbott. Like I said it’s a very subjective thing.
The PM will be happy with the way things went because it fitted nicely with her small target and risk free approach to the campaign. ALP strategists will be over the moon with the female response to Ms Gillard, which was extraordinarily positive, irrespective of what she said.
Significantly, women were very strongly supportive of the PM’s people’s assembly on climate change, which will give Labor some encouragement after the policy was so broadly rounded on last week.
It will reinforce their commitment to the soothsayer position they have adopted, which is to express empathy with people’s concerns. Be engaging and non-threatening in the sense that there’ll be no policy prescriptions that could be remotely interpreted as having a negative impact on anyone.
In other words light on deadlines, goals and specifics but heavy on rhetoric.
Equally Tony Abbott, while not scoring any big hits against his opponent, was able to control his natural debating aggressiveness, which has hurt him in the past and is nominated as a big turn off factor with women.
Although women didn’t generally warm to the Opposition Leader, they did give him points for his position on immigration, economic management and his paid parental leave scheme. Expect to see the Liberals focus more on these issues in the next few weeks.
Significantly he presented much more credible position on work choices than the verbal quagmire of last week, stating simply that “he respects the position of Australian voters” that they don’t want workchoices.
The audience reaction to that statement was positive from men and women and that will be encouraging for Mr Abbott, but it won’t stop the ALP and union campaign efforts to run an industrial relations fear campaign between now and polling day.
The great pity is there wasn’t enough time to allow health, education, infrastructure and other important issues such as water to be debated.
That matters such as these didn’t get a substantive look in is argument enough for there to be at least three debates in election campaigns, if for no other reason that we get an insight into the thinking of the electorate via the dreaded worm, which is now split along gender lines.
