The NEXT coming Oz election thread!

Lateline playing one now.

I caught the last 8 or so minutes. He doesn't strike me as being excessively wobbly. The thing is, he's extremely candid at this point. Not playing by the accepted rules. That, I think, is the thing that most worries the ALP. He could say anything, which must be terrifying for anyone whose crossed him or undermined him. On the radio today he spoke about Bill Shorten & Greg Combet* .... the differences between what they publicly advocated & their privately held beliefs & expectations. Pretty damning stuff.
I'm treating this as an instructive excercise & I suspect a lot of what he has to say about the culture of political life is true.

*
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/next-target--latham-lashes-union-men/2005/09/16/1126750108145.html?oneclick=true

Yeah.


I didn't think much had been PUBLISHED about gossip and innuendo?


I know Canberra pullulates with it, but centres of government do..

Oh, I think quite a bit HAS. I remember very well the "revelations" on the Sunday program in the last few weeks leading up to the election. And there were further "bucks night" allegations mooted, that didn't quite eventuate. However, the publicity, on top of the already existing material from his first wife, former friends etc.were quite undermining of Latham's credibilty at the time.

But it's not just Labor, either. Remember the former leader of the NSW libs (Forgotten his name) who recently attempted suicide? The leaks about him were directly linked to the NSW Young Libs & the Right of the party. And they got what they wanted. They now have a leader with suitably "Right" credentials.

I'm with Julia Gillard on Latham's revelations:
"Ms Gillard, Labor's health spokeswoman, says Mr Latham's diaries describe major issues the party should not ignore.

"You need to also be able to ignore the hurt long enough to see if there are truth in some of the reflections," she said. ... "

Hmmmmmmm......yeah, I surely agree (as does Latham) it is both sides.


I guess I didn't keeo up with the election. I knew we were gonna lose way out.


I am shocked that sexual stuff was published, and I hadn't read the stuff from his first wife. I really don't look at Australian papers much! get my news from radio National.

I had noticed a bit of American style sexual scandal moingering, NOT generally an Oz tradition, and I have been fearing for a while we were going down the American path on that.


Well, they'll ALL be damned sorry if we go more that way, as we have seen.


I had certainly not heard the Fisher stuff, nor the Member for Adelaide stuff.

I'll probably read his diaries. I have this fascination about the reality behind the facade in politics. And god knows many of us went through the wringer during & after the last election. I'd really like to hear Latham's version of the story to have a better understanding of where the ALP was at, during that time.

Post deleted. (repeat)

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Lol! Heard you the first time.



Yes. I am actually very close to how it runs here, not via being a major part of the thing, but through friendships.


I think SA generally has a much softer factional system, and a softer style of interpersonal relationships, though it can get machinelike and bruising.


NSW and Victoria, the power houses of the Labor party, have always been brutal, especially the dominant NSW right, where many leaders (noteably Keating) come from.

I can recall coming up against its then "kindergarten" boys in student politics. They were brutal in style, when it mattered not a fig. They are now the men in charge. And I say men advisedly.

It IS difficult, though. As you know, politics is the art of the possible, and it is brutal up there in the spotlight, actually making the decisions.

Well I didn't hear it ANY times last night/early this morning when I was trying to post. Very, very slow A2K at that time, with many "critical message" messages for something like an hour & a half. Strange, this post didn't appear at all then, not here/nor in the "search" list ..... & here it is this morning, no less than 3 times! This is happening quite a bit, lately. Frustrating. Just venting. <sigh>

The ALP "power brokers"? Many, many former politicians have spoken of this, including "respectables", like Button & Barry Jones. But Latham appears to have been particularly revolted & angry by his own experience.

Yes, along with the NSW Right, power-broking/manipulation is a huge issue in Victoria .. Branch stacking (for purposes of candidate reselection) is rife. It's a very hot potato for the Bracks government right now. Lots of internal strife. "Incidents" in local branches that have involved the police, people going public with the details in the media ..... There is even court action in the pipeline to sort out the problem. No wonder many folk feel there's no point in trying to participate in the ALP at the branch level!

Mind you, the Libs are very active on this front here, too. There are Costello endorsed candidates, Kruger endorsed candidates (at both state & federal levels) .... It gets very hot during preselections. And the fights often spill over into into the media.

Is it any wonder that ordinary voters become so cynical? Anyway, Latham will NOT be at all popular with those with the real power in the ALP for exposing the behind the scenes machinations in so much detail & with so much vitriol I mean, it just not cricket to talk about these things publicly! You might destroy voters' illusions!

Interestingly, the Age readers poll asking whether readers believed Latham's claims is almost 50/50 after over 5000 votes:

Yes: 49%

No: 50%

Of course, there any many reasons & motivations for voting either way, not least political partisanship! :wink:

Lol! That's about the voting divide, right now!

Yup!

Alas, poor Mark ......:

Where have the glasses gone?

Contacts?


Surgery?

I thought something was different, apart from the new, thin, Mark ..... hmmm ....

I just remembered the glasses! Awful.

Thin? No more man boobs?