Safe Hands?

So the coalition is reported to be "war-gaming" a change in PM before the next election. Nothing wrong with that.

But the memorable quote is;

It is not confining its efforts to the two men most likely to battle for the leadership should Gillard be deposed - Bill Shorten and Greg Combet. It is also focusing seriously on the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, and the Defence Minister, Stephen Smith.

Both now qualify as elder statesmen and the thinking inside the Coalition is that should Labor change again, it would be such an act of desperation that the party would not opt for a raw recruit with a reputation as a machine man, such as Combet or Shorten.

Ummm. Have we forgotten that they were both labelled roosters for their machinations in the Beazley/Crean era?

Have we forgotten that before Parliament they were the State General Secretaries in Qld and WA respectively. They are just as much "machine" men as the other two.

It has been Gillard's and Rudd's strength that their CVs include real jobs, and while they may have been parliamentary staff they were not machine operatives.

The most likely alternative to Julia Gillard is Julia Gillard.


Novae Meridianae Demetae Dexter delenda est