It was a bittersweet affair for Kevin Rudd’s swearing in as foreign minister, amongst the magnolias and “faceless men” at Government House yesterday in Canberra, reports Samantha Maiden.
ALP leadership
Aarons: Too many factions, too many focus groups
Spinning deals and generating funds form the heart and soul or lack thereof of NSW Labor, and its role in making and breaking Kevin Rudd provides more evidence that the ALP place far too much emphasis on factions and focus groups, says Mark Aarons.
Sonti: Eerie flashbacks to 2008
This federal election is like time travelling to the last WA state election, writes Chalpat Sonti. Liberals ran a low-profile campaign while just allowing the incumbent Labor to stuff it all up royally.
Keane essay: Abbott and Gillard two strikingly different politicians
For all the superficial similarities — they are both novice leaders and both reached the top job by knifing their predecessors — Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard are strikingly different politicians.
Gillard the gambler’s risky dice roll
Julia Gillard’s decision to rush to an election after only a few weeks in the top job seems both opportunistic and desperate. Burdened by the failed policies of Kevin Rudd, she is taking a big risk and going for broke, says John Wanna.
And so the baby smooching begins
Even though Julia Gillard is presumably against prodigious mass child-bearing - sustainable population and all that - she was nevertheless seen on the weekend drenched in a sea of baby craniums. She’s not exactly the first pollie to have kissed an infant.
PM hit by Oakes ambush
Daily Media Wrap: Yesterday a ho-hum economics speech from the Prime Minister at the National Press Club was ambushed by veteran scoop-breaking journo Laurie Oakes, who came to the event armed with a bombshell.
Gillard watch out, Laurie’s about
Julia Gillard’s National Press Club address was overshadowed by Laurie Oakes’ revelations of the events of spill night, which formed the basis for his question following the address. Did Rudd leak the info, asks Bernard Keane?
Oakes: Rudd’s downfall was a hoot, but where was the sex?
Kevin Rudd’s downfall had all the hallmarks of compelling telemovie drama - ruthless ambition, bitter rivalries, back-stabbing, political assassination and more - but it lacked one thing: sex, writes Laurie Oakes.
Milne: Gillard Labor looks a lot like Rudd Labor
Some of the key criticisms of Kevin Rudd - particularly poor communication skills and lack of consultation - appear to be also reflected in the new PM’s leadership style. Just look at the mining tax and the so-called East Timor Solution, writes Glenn Milne.
No stopping the rise of the ranga
Julia Gillard has proved to the nation that a certain breed of marginalised people can make it all the way to the top. We’re talking, of course, of redheads. Gillard’s ascension has well and truly cracked the ginger ceiling, says Dominic Knight.
Crabb: Gillard embarks on a violent Rudd trashing
Julia Gillard may have been one of the key players who scrapped the ETS, but she’s going to keep that fact quiet as she embarks on blaming Rudd for everything, writes Annabel Crabb.
Gillard’s rise: 157 years (and some trailblazing) in the making
I know I am not the only Australian who is quietly blessing those trail-blazers of the past for clearing the rocky road to Gillard’s momentous climb to the top job, writes Dr Clare Wright.
Holmes: It’s not just your ABC, it’s everyone’s
The Oz has been unfairly laying into the ABC for its leadership spill coverage last Thursday night. The ABC couldn’t just cut some of its most popular programs for a handful of political junkies, writes Jonathan Holmes.
Farrelly: Gillard and the rise of the Catwoman
Julia Gillard’s ascension marks a significant step forward for atheists, redheads and unmarried politicians but most of all it marks the beginning of the next period in human history: the rise and reign of the Catwoman, writes Elizabeth Farrelly.
Rundle: Pull your finger out Gillard
It’s been a week since PM Gillard ascended, and the whole thing has been fought on the Coalition’s and right-media terrain ever since. Where’s the initiative? asks Guy Rundle.
Burnside: Argy bargy can be good for everyone
Bitter and rancorous debate might not be “the true Australian way” but a fair whack of old fashioned confrontation can actually lead to good policy outcomes, writes Sarah Burnside.
Political snippets: Same campaign, different leader
Now that Julia Gillard is in the top job the Prime Minister might be different, but Labor’s campaigning techniques look like same old same old.
Gillard will win the election but Labor has lost its way
Both our major political parties have an identity problem. It’s the task of their leaders to define them, but is Julia Gillard up to the job?
Never mind ABC TV, put a rocket up ABC Radio
When the ALP leadership spill story began to break last week, ABC’s TV coverage compared unfavorably with Sky News - but it wasn’t exactly a fair comparison.
Carney: surprise surprise, politics is a grubby game
Yes, Kevin Rudd’s political assassination was swift and calculated but he isn’t the first and he won’t be the last. Moral dubiousness is the nature of the beast, writes Shaun Carney.
Grattan: Once upon a Gillard
On top of untangling contentious issues such as asylum seekers, climate change and the RSPT, Julia Gillard must construct a narrative that defines her, writes Michelle Grattan.
Rudd: executed by smartphone
Languishing polls, back-stabbing MPs and bad communication skills weren’t the only things that did Kevin Rudd in - his political assassins also used iPhones and Blackberries.
Turnbull: Rudd deserves a hug
He may have lacked competence and conviction but Kevin Rudd deserves respect (and a hug), writes Malcolm Turnbull in a Yeats inspired tribute to the former PM.
must read Maloney: I was there for the spill (and the mopping up)
Author Shane Maloney was sniffing around the corridors of parliament house last week. He wasn’t expecting to stumble into a PM leadership spill while eating dinner with Lindsay Tanner.
