Canberra
June 23rd 2007 02:26
I was in Canberra recently to attend a dinner with the PM to celebrate his inaugural Australian History Prize. It was an interesting event, about 90 people listening to well-crafted speeches from the PM and from Julie Bishop, and partaking in really good food and wine.
Having sloped around the hallowed halls and had a few litle chats with people my views on the outcome of the next election is still pretty much the same. I think the Government will be returned with a reduced majority. The ALP is not going to win back its Tasmanian seats with Peter Garrett on its front bench, WA looks as though its heading the governments way, Queensland isn't going to change much. The only bright spots might be SA, where last election a few seats were lost that really shouldn't have been, and the larger states.I gained no sense of impending doom at the house on the Government side.
The Union stuff in the last week hasn't helped poor Kevin, whom I also saw while I was there. I went to a party fundraiser in Queanbeyan with my mate Adam. The local candidate looks strong, a military man - but you've gotta say that people who get involved in party fundraisers are usually the lonely, the crazy and the ambitious. This is not a universal observation, but itt's true enough to make you think that you've met all those people before. You know them: the mad old lady with a heap of axes to grind at anyone who will listen; the pale young man with bad acne and no personality, on the make but only ever likely to be preselected for a seat he can't win; the ex-union thug who knows everything about everyone; the gay activist; the green activist; the feminist activist; the chubby lass who runs the raffles and collects the money for the the drinks. I haven't decided which category I'm in yet, perhaps the merely crazy.
Kevin was urging the locals to get behind the local candidate and convince their friends in the community about him. Well it sounds good. Eden-Monaro is after all famous as the national decider. As goes Eden-Monaro so the nation!
It's going to be a close contest and it's no shoo-in for the Opposition. The betting market is stillneck and neck - a more reliable indicator than the polls if you ask me. I think that the indiginous policy outlined by the PM will run very much in his favour. If the Opposition cavills too much then they'll look like hand-wringing do-gooders with no grasp on reality - all rhetoric and no solid action. not a good look. There is probably a line that they can take - I bet the strategist are even now hard at it. but it will only be damage control.
Having sloped around the hallowed halls and had a few litle chats with people my views on the outcome of the next election is still pretty much the same. I think the Government will be returned with a reduced majority. The ALP is not going to win back its Tasmanian seats with Peter Garrett on its front bench, WA looks as though its heading the governments way, Queensland isn't going to change much. The only bright spots might be SA, where last election a few seats were lost that really shouldn't have been, and the larger states.I gained no sense of impending doom at the house on the Government side.
The Union stuff in the last week hasn't helped poor Kevin, whom I also saw while I was there. I went to a party fundraiser in Queanbeyan with my mate Adam. The local candidate looks strong, a military man - but you've gotta say that people who get involved in party fundraisers are usually the lonely, the crazy and the ambitious. This is not a universal observation, but itt's true enough to make you think that you've met all those people before. You know them: the mad old lady with a heap of axes to grind at anyone who will listen; the pale young man with bad acne and no personality, on the make but only ever likely to be preselected for a seat he can't win; the ex-union thug who knows everything about everyone; the gay activist; the green activist; the feminist activist; the chubby lass who runs the raffles and collects the money for the the drinks. I haven't decided which category I'm in yet, perhaps the merely crazy.
Kevin was urging the locals to get behind the local candidate and convince their friends in the community about him. Well it sounds good. Eden-Monaro is after all famous as the national decider. As goes Eden-Monaro so the nation!
It's going to be a close contest and it's no shoo-in for the Opposition. The betting market is stillneck and neck - a more reliable indicator than the polls if you ask me. I think that the indiginous policy outlined by the PM will run very much in his favour. If the Opposition cavills too much then they'll look like hand-wringing do-gooders with no grasp on reality - all rhetoric and no solid action. not a good look. There is probably a line that they can take - I bet the strategist are even now hard at it. but it will only be damage control.
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