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Wednesday May 23, 2012

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When did Rudd lose his way?

Posted by: Derryn Hinch | 25 June, 2010 - 5:26 PM
Gillard - she stepped up for you 'hard-working Australians'

He’s out. She’s in. The fastest, most brutal execution in Australian political history is over. The corpse has been removed. The knives have been cleaned. Not a trace of blood left on the floor. Life (and the all-important march to the election) goes on. And, if you believe the way that the new prime minister has doggedly portrayed the tumultuous events of the past day or so, her sole motivation has been ‘in the national interest’.

This is Joan of Arc stuff. St Julia heard the call and heeded that call. The government (of which she was an integral part and major decision-maker) had  ‘lost its way’.  She had to act, had to decapitate an elected leader ‘in the best interests of the Australian people’.

Forget grubby things like personal ambition and union heavyweights and factional kingmakers.

It is vitally important for Julia Gillard to keep pushing this image. She can’t be seen as a grubby, disloyal deputy who reduced her boss, and her partner on the way to the top, to that shell-shocked blubbering broken mess we saw on television yesterday.

I believe Gillard was a loyal deputy but boy she found her Road to Damascus very quickly. And she gets deliberately coy when anybody probes about the exact timing of her epiphany.

She ‘formed a view’ that the Rudd Government, of which she was an integral part and major cheerleader, had ‘lost is way’. But when? Was it when Bill Shorten approached her a couple of weeks ago? Was it when the NSW heavies approached her this week? Was it when Kevin Rudd had an angry argument with her, accusing her of disloyalty, in her office on Wednesday – in his dying hours as PM?

Did she discuss it with other members of the Gang of Four?  Did she raise her concerns about ‘losing the way’ with Rudd. He was the driver and  he may have mis-read the map but Gillard and Swan (now PM and deputy PM)  were in the car. Didn’t either tap him on the shoulder and say ‘wrong way, go back’?

She was a major defender of the pink batt fiasco, the school gym rorts, the scrapping of the ETS, the mining tax imbroglio and the $40 million spent on advertising it.

Did Gillard ever play the human Tom Tom on the GPS and say ‘turn left, turn left’. Especially once she knew they were lost and on the road to an election they would lose.

Or did she let others quietly load the gun and willingly take it and fire it when she knew Rudd had very few troops with which to defend himself?

Kerry O’Brien on the 7.30 Report last night tried to get some answers but the new PM doggedly stayed on message.

There could be not a hint of blood on her hands. At a media conference today, on the  same spot where Rudd quivered and crumbled yesterday, Julia Eileen Gillard, made it all sound so noble.

‘I offered myself because I felt I had an obligation to hard-working Australians.’

She has to sound pious in a week of poisonous politics.


The architects behind Rudd's 'knifing'

Wayne Swan HAWAII HINCH BLOG: "As the late Richard Carleton would say … they all have blood on their hands. Remember too: Gillard and Swan and Lindsay Tanner (who seems the invisible man today) were all involved in those unpopular Rudd decisions over pink batts and, school rorts and canning the ETS." Read more.

 

Julia Gillard is Prime Minister

Julia Gillard could be set to lead the country today HAVE YOUR SAY: Julia Gillard has become Australia's first female prime minister. Kevin Rudd this morning stood down as Labor leader.

 

Julia and then 'talkback tampering'?

Neil Mitchell Neil Mitchell took Julia Gillard's first press conference live on Friday where she took questions from the media throng. This was then followed by what Neil found to be an 'intrigueing' talkback call from someone calling him 'Garry'.

 

Early election = Labor win?

Julia Gilard and Quentin Bryce - the powerbrokers Neil Mitchell says Australia is a place of 'women worshipping' after the saturated, positive coverage of the country now having its first female Prime Minister. The 3AW host says the election will now be held in August or early September.

Blog comments Your Say

  • So Julia Guillotine should be ashamed. Of what? Poor her. Having been coerced by a bunch of backstabbers who would have backstabbed her if she failed to perform.Yea.
    She is as shallow and may make the same cardinal sin as Rudd in attempting to steer her own ship herself.
    That mob is there not for nothing. Wait after the election. If Labor wins the table gets reshuffled and they are all in the cabinet. Losers will not dispute a win, because its a win. But if you want to know the reality vote them out, and then the blood you have seen here is a drop in the ocean compared to what will happen in that party. Then one will really see what has not yet been shown in this saga chapter. Julia will follow Rudd and it will be swift including Swan. These have never been power brokers, they are always on borrowed time, and faces. Mark my word.

    Hariette Monday 5 July, 2010 - 3:46 PM

  • Someone here is being a bit nice calling us voters stooges. The word is donkeys. Give us TV soapies, Oprah and Women Weekly stuff together with KFC lunches, you can do what you want with us. The whole family. We pretend we can think, or exhibit intellect and can distinguish differences between a rabbit and a roo.
    Yea Right. Clever.
    A Bangladeshi fisherman on the muddy delta would have more insight about what is around him.
    Lucky us for our natural resources we don't have to produce anything real. Someone digs it and hands us the money otherwise we would be called the fourth world.
    Now we even think we can vote. Right.

    KathyM Wednesday 30 June, 2010 - 10:54 AM

  • MISH - "WE put our trust in that party to choose the best leader"

    As per the requirements of and directives from Big Business.

    What gave you the impression/undertanding that

    CAPITALISM = DEMOCRACY???????

    adam Tuesday 29 June, 2010 - 2:25 PM

  • I am astounded at how few Australians understand our political system . We are not a Presidential system . In OUR country we vote for a political party.WE put our trust in that party to choose the best leader.

    mish Tuesday 29 June, 2010 - 12:58 PM

  • Well!
    Most people are just basically outraged at her actions.

    After all the victims of the insulation policy are still dead - homes are still burning - whales are still being slaughtered and Peter Garrett is still a minister
    Ex pats are still spending the $60,000,000.00 that they were given to stimulate the Australian economy and Swan is now deputy prime minister.
    Builders are still ripping off the system and overcharging for the education scandal and Gillard is now prime minister.
    God help us, how stupid do these people think we are????

    Sally Monday 28 June, 2010 - 12:09 PM

  • Just watch this space, after the demise of Kevin 747 in 0.7 of a day the deadly 7, Bill Shorten, Mark Arbib, Wayne Swan, Tony Burke, David Feeney, Martin Ferguson, john Faulkner with the assistance of Chloe & Quentin (AC) Ink.. In the family. The stage is set for another puppet on the string leadership approach which is typical for a labor rightwing union faction approach, the same comparison can be drawn from the previous NSW Government situation with their first lady premier appointed to redirect the damage away from their past performance and failures, the same strategy this time around for the federal government with their 7 major failures, excessive stimulus, EDS, learning & building revolution, boat asylum seekers, mining tax, pink batts, health it actually goes beyond 7 but b---ers my flow. Next we will see the other favorite sons and daughters returning to the nest (jobs for the boys) Steve Bracks (AO) John Brumblebee (RS) we may even see the rise of a previous faction warlord and now best friend of Kevin, Dean Mighell back into the labor party, perhaps Dean could assist Kevin in the Foreign Ministers role as they both have excellent credentials when travelling overseas on assignment. All these guys appear to have that extra step in there walk and smiles all round after Julias promotion this week, even Craig Johnston was ecstatic this week closing down another work site

    Ralph from Land of Plenty Monday 28 June, 2010 - 6:06 AM

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