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Did the holy trinity of Hawke/Keating/Howard do it differently?

Australians, it seems, are well aware that their governments must operate in a far more multi-polar world than in previous decades.

He’s feisty, he’s a pugilist, a former Labor leader and he lives, mainly, in his own political past. The most exciting ex-leader in Australia is Paul Keating, and he’s at it again today.

The marginal seat of Lindsay, in Sydney’s outer-west, is crucial to Labor’s chances of seeing off a resurgent Liberal Party. Bernard Keane hit the hustings with Bob Hawke.

If Gillard gets the sort of win I am now predicting for her, then there will be a new Mackerras law of electoral history, says Malcolm MacKerras.

There’s something awfully sad about old men like Bob Hawke and Paul Keating fall out in a public fashion. Especially when both have so much to be proud of, writes former Labor operative Richard Farmer.

Former PM Paul Keating gives his predecessor a serve ahead of the release of Blanche D’Alpuget’s new biography, likening Hawke to Narcissus and claiming that he “carried” the PM through his troubled years. Ouch!

It’s been 14 years since we have had a PM who could really deliver a speech, and it was fitting that the nation’s greatest speechwriter, Graham Freudenberg, was in the audience last night to hear Julia Gillard speak about Bob Hawke.

Kevin Rudd’s biggest problem was the size of the gap between what he promised and what he delivered. His early demise isn’t a grave setback to the reformist cause within Labor.

A new two-hour telemovie spanning the career of Bob Hawke is a complexly written and immensely well-acted production that signifies the best Aussie TV drama in a decade, says reviewer Colin Vickery.

Novelty can only take you so far and Kevin Rudd’s coating of shiny newness is tarnished. It’s no surprise that poll numbers have dropped for Rudd since he’s still a mystery to voters, writes Shaun Carney

Rudd is a big wuss, says Peter Brent, but take the rose-tinted glasses off: Hawke, Keating and Howard were often pretty spineless, too.

There is vast global demand for Australia’s natural resources and we need reforms to get worker productivity moving and let this boom happen again. The old Labor union bosses need to set their PM straight, writes former Keating minister Gary Johns.

Crikey readers weigh in on a bit of Aussie political history, a possible way of dealing with an ageing population’s health care and the anger at angry dads.

Whether it be your childhood crush on Bob Hawke, a poem penned in primary school for Gough Whitlam or a secret fondness for John Howard, join in the discussion at Larvartus Prodeo about your earliest political memory.

The bond developed between Victoria’s Moreland councillors could make the preference arrangements at next year’s state election very interesting, judging by actions at the latest council meeting.

A happy snap of former PM Bob Hawke surrounded by the folks who ousted him from office shows time heals all wounds, the aesthetic costs of wind turbines, no outliers in the Crikey Election Indicator, and a thumbs up for the new Oz design.

There’s an element of politics in Communications Minister Stephen Conroy’s decision to break Telstra up. But it’s also good policy that finally corrects the huge mistake Bob Hawke and Kim Beazley made.

Kevin Rudd is riding high on a wave of surging popularity. But a dip into the annals of Australian political history shows personal popularity doesn’t always translate into success in the one poll that actually matters, says Mark Davis.