Comments on: Don’t write Tony Abbott off yet. But if you do …

By: Dogs breakfast

Dogs breakfast — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:31:01 +0000

“But many observers, and a few MPs outside the Rudd camp, thought there was no way the Prime Minister could recover (nor did I, I readily admit).”

Ah yes, if I can just blow my own trumpet here, along with others on here who clearly saw that the Gallery mindset was way off target.

I remarked, as others did, that the carbon tax would be hardly noticeable, that Gillard would have 12 to 18 months after the world didn’t end to secure some credibility, that the actual policy achievements of this ‘dysfunctional’ government were as good if not better than the Hawke Keating years, that the NBN not only upturned the usury of the Telstra monopoly but also set us on a course for the future, and that people at least subliminally understand the difference between spending money for genuinely needed infrastructure is entirely different to just going into debt without nothing to show for it.

The only variable was whether Gillard could find her feet, and it seems since the misogyny speech that she has. I hope that she took my advice, and the advice of so many others here and sacked her PR team, or at least stopped listening to them.

Say what you like, but this government has achieved some substantial things. They could have done so much better, sure, but the NBN, the carbon tax etc are HUGE reforms. Better to go to the electorate with a policy record than a record of just saying no.

It’s still anyone’s game, but the ascendancy is with Gillard. TA has painted himself into a corner, and it was always the case that he was accident prone and that the MSM might turn on him if Gillard and Labor could just stop making headlines for their stupidity.

Momentum is a significant thing in politics.

By: Recalcitrant.Rick

Recalcitrant.Rick — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 03:18:26 +0000

The obvious answer is for Malcolm to defect to Labor! The middle is where all the undecideds are.:-)

By: Damien

Damien — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:05:58 +0000

Abbott has painted himself into a corner and the reality is dawning on the Parliamentary Libs. He can’t turn to a positive agenda without moving away from his stated aims of repealing the carbon price and slashing $50 billion in expenditure. He’s committed to flagellating the community in these ways and I’m not sure the community will sign up to it without some major crisis - like a recession - to push them there. They’ve seen the Newman slash and burn and the O’Farrel equivalent in NSW.

One thing Abbott has done which may benefit the ALP is to talk down the Greens which, together with Bob Brown’s retirement, has arrested and perhaps reversed the longer-term growth in Greens support.

Autumn or Winter election. ALP by nine seats. Watch the LNP tide roll out in Queensland.

By: SBH

SBH — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:01:13 +0000

Joe Hockey - oh let it be so. That would ensure a labor victory and a trouble free term. His difficulty on ‘The Insiders’ in differentiating between ‘flat-lining’ and 3% growth one of many examples of his lack of talent

By: MJPC

MJPC — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:32:26 +0000

Mr Abbott has core and non-core aboriginals as a problem now, during the Howard era it was core and non-core promises (which I seem to recall Mr Abbott was not averse to spruik also). As Australia goes into the election year the LNP are going to be under pressure to give their policies and Mr Abbott is not good under pressure. Already I have heard some interviewers starting to put the heat on.
Reference the NBN, why did the Government take so long to roll out the TV adverts, explain succinctly why the NBN is so important in simple language?

By: beachcomber

beachcomber — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 11:27:10 +0000

Joe Hockey is as inspiring as limp lettuce. He failed to win the leadership when he couldn’t decide where he stood on Climate Change. Or couldn’t develop a position that would appeal to the Liberal Caucus on Climate Change. So they ended up with Abbott, who ran around impersonating Chicken Little for 2 years, only to end up with egg on his face. Turning to Hockey now, because they fear Turnbull would not be a “real” Liberal PM, would ensure they lose the next election. Turbull’s sin is that he appeals to the middle ground, rather then the Far Right. If the Liberals believe pandering to the Far Right is their best course, they deserve eternity in Opposition.

By: beachcomber

beachcomber — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 11:20:38 +0000

Abbott’s dismissal of an “urban aboriginal” suggests his problems are wider than just with women. And gays. And Muslims. And greenies. And unionists.

By: wilful

wilful — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 11:12:17 +0000

I don’t know about “people” but Malcolm Turnbull is a more appealing idea as PM to me than Julia Gillard is.

By: Peter Ormonde

Peter Ormonde — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:27:10 +0000

AR,

He’d do better out in the electorate than he will in the party room. Too smart. Too NSW. Wrong party. Too Liberal. Too urbane. A Republican. A step back. A mea culpa. A discrediting of the Abbott adventure. Buckleys and none boyo.

They’re right of course. Not even a souffle of that calibre.

I wish he’d defect. To the Independents.

By: AR

AR — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:27:48 +0000

Despite your mea culpa BK, you just slip back into the press corp meme in your final paragraph. Sloppy not a light weight?! is this some sort of fat joke?
And Malcolm could win? - amongst the North Shore set perhaps but amongst ..people? I doubt it.

By: Peter Ormonde

Peter Ormonde — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 09:10:24 +0000

Achmed,

That’s just typical of the namby-pamby nanny-state marxism that has so infested the Liberals under Abbott! Just featherbedding isn’t it? Incentivise the kiddies to make their own. Or better buy one from Hardly Normals. Set something up like the Holden deal.

And an abacus at that!!! Just blatantly Bowing down and scraping it up before China and the Middle East!

Liberals In Name Only! LINOs.

Jig Jig Jiggling!

By: Achmed

Achmed — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:55:29 +0000

zut alors I’m sure that if Abbott gets in and the NBN stops he will compensate you with an abacus, quill pen and ink….

By: Achmed

Achmed — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:49:52 +0000

I think the problem Joe Hockey has is that he doesn’t really believe what he is being forced to say in order to support Abbott. He is saying things he does not believe in order to show “unity” within the Liberals. Something sadly lacking among the Labor Govt. First chance they get they are out there leaking information and publicly denouncing fellow MP’s. Such disloyalty is undermining Labor and making them look like a bunch of rank amateurs debating who is going to be the class prefect in grade one

By: zut alors

zut alors — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 08:06:19 +0000

Jamie Crain, yes, he did say “in blood”… but he didn’t put it in writing. In Rabbott Doctrine, that’s his ‘out’ clause.

By: Peter Ormonde

Peter Ormonde — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 07:57:58 +0000

Jamie,

I reckon the truly awful thing about elections is how twitchy it makes elected folks sitting on 5% margins from either side. Bad polls and critical focus groups, in-house polling and the likes are ALL they can can talk about or even comprehend. They gibber. Like rabbits frozen in the headlights - sheer panic to the point of immobility.

That’s not to say that policy issues won’t play a part - there will be votes… new things to be opposed. But the closer we get to judgement day the less these rabbits can move.

It’s necessary to give a replacement a decent run at getting established - otherwise it risks being a suicide mission.

On climate change and the carbon tax at least Abbott now holds a position out in front chanting slogans to the Convoy of No Consequence. He’s bolted the Libs to the ratbag vote.

More, with the new Inquiry into he faces the prospect of being regularly grilled regarding his support or views on the comments and role of Cardinal Pell - his confessor and adviser. Awkward.

A lot of Libs will be feeling most uncomfortable in coming months.

Tony - who cannot - could never - stop letting everyone know how he thinks - is very expensive… discounted to the point of remaindering. Let’s all hope they don’t.

By: Lyn Gain

Lyn Gain — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 07:38:12 +0000

Two things Bernard. Firstly, what is your evidence that criticism of the asylum policy is “certainly not shared by voters”. The last time I looked the majority of Australians were against offshore processing. And every voter I know is appalled - but maybe these are just Labor voters. And secondly, some evidence for why Joe Hockey is supposed to have “turned around perceptions that he is a lightweight”.
An additional point that springs to mind is that Gillard seems to be making Abbott look like a big wuss, since the mysogyny speech - she stood up to him, beat the crap out of him, and her colleagues, e.g., Greg Combet, are going in hard on the carbon tax ‘bullshit’ - who’s the liar now. I can’t see Joe doing much better, too ready to try to please everybody since his initial principled stand on climate change, and you know what they said about Mitt Romney trying to be all things to all persons. I’m also assuming that the liberals are too bogged down in their internal history to ever bring back Turnbull. So - Abbott should be going into the next election, which I think is a plus for Labor.

By: jamie crain

jamie crain — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 07:37:17 +0000

In the same way Turnbull cocked up by tying himself to an ETS which was not supported by colleagues, Abbott has tied himself to repealing the carbon tax. This means that if the tax ends up being not so bad, then Abbott will be forced to go through with his threat anyway. How this is perceived at a late stage in the campaign is anyone’s guess. “In blood” he said, he might regret that…

By: Ned Manning

Ned Manning — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 06:03:34 +0000

I saw Joe (or a Joe look alike) checking his wallet by the side if the road yesterday. Is this an omen? Malcolm never checks his wallet. Maybe Joe is having a punt on himself.

By: David Allen

David Allen — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:49:34 +0000

You had me until you mentioned Joe, Bernard.

If Labor allow the coalition to win after having so clearly demonstrating that they can’t understand an electricity bill, let alone the national economy, then gawd help us!

By: Mike Flanagan

Mike Flanagan — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:27:58 +0000

The Aggott will resolve this problem, with a summer of lycra, bicycles, surf swimming and running to promote his answer to the Asian century by introducing export subsidies on budgy smugglers.

By: Mike Flanagan

Mike Flanagan — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:18:48 +0000

Some of it is well said Bernard. While many of us do forgive you, we hope you recover to full health from Murdochian clonning virus. I do understand recovery can be slow and difficult.

By: klewso

klewso — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:01:12 +0000

They’re digging around in Gillard’s past again - for a red herring or two? And if the ABC doesn’t join in their chorus-line they’ll be labelled “pro-Labor” - as biased as their mob is “pro-Limited News Party”?

By: Peter Ormonde

Peter Ormonde — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:53:18 +0000

Mike… they’d all be off having intensive trauma therapy after the awful, dreadful, tragic events in the USofA. Or are they off buying guns and foil?

By: Mike Smith

Mike Smith — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:50:21 +0000

@Zut: Me too.

@BK: Tony Abbott? Strategy? Is that not an oxymoron?

Where have NewsCorp’s and the Coalition’s sock puppets gone? Are they suffering political indigestion?

By: tmhayes2

tmhayes2 — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 04:39:01 +0000

I wrote Tony Abbott off a year ago I told friends and family that he is unelectable Now it seems that this fact is slowly dawning on the media When will the Liberals get it

margaret Brennan