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The Forum > Article Comments > Ruthlessness, brutality and cowardice > Comments

Ruthlessness, brutality and cowardice : Comments

By Jennifer Wilson, published 29/6/2010

That brilliant victory speech Julia Gillard gave wasn’t written an hour before she became Prime Minister.

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What can I say? I agree with everything you say.

Where are the outraged crowds on the steps of parliament house, as there were in 1975?
Posted by Clownfish, Tuesday, 29 June 2010 10:00:34 AM
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What a load of unreasoning twaddle.
“Australians endorsed Kevin Rudd as leader” no, the electorate of Griffith, QLD, elected him as their parliamentary representative. The elected Parliamentary Labor members, as per Australian Federal Parliament practice for those forming Government, elected him as leader – and under the same practice have dismissed him from that post. They were far removed from being – “unelected to orchestrate the events that led to this most undemocratic action.”
Rudd was well removed from being the most collegiate of men, “he never opened his door”, yet the author asks “did anyone ever sit down with Rudd and give him some straight talk about his style?”
“none of the men and women we’ve elected in the last 15 years have had the bottle,” she says of his colleagues, yet when they did demonstrate that capacity, the author dresses it up as “The ruthlessness, the brutality, and the cowardice we’ve seen over the last few days”.
Dr. Jennifer Wilson, this article makes you a candidate for Doctor of Spin.
Posted by colinsett, Tuesday, 29 June 2010 10:37:37 AM
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The author does not seem to understand the basics of the Westminister system of government. It is not a presidential system, despite the media carrying on as it it is. When we vote, we vote for our local member, not the leader of the party. The parliamentary members, influenced by the party members, then elects the leader. And it can change its leader if it likes.

What happened is nothing like 1975. Then the Queen in the form of the GG, overturned several centuries of convention by taking executive action other than on the advice of her ministers. A real constitutional breach. Which is what the parliamentary members did not make. On the contrary. Clan
Posted by clan, Tuesday, 29 June 2010 10:44:53 AM
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It is the Australian LABOR Party, Jennifer; not LABOUR. The ALP could not spell properly (or they were taught spelling by an American).

“Does this mean that none of the men and women we’ve elected in the last 15 years have had the bottle, singularly or collectively, to front their respective leaders when those leaders urgently needed to be spoken to?”

It probably does mean that, yes. They didn’t have the guts to pull Rudd into line, hence the plotting and planning that went on behind his back. The plotters waited patiently until they were absolutely sure that the electorate was thoroughly sick of Rudd, then they acted en masse. In short, they waited until they knew their cowardly hides were safe – protected by the people they constantly use and abuse.

People twittering on about the joys of a female Prime Minister should realise that Gillard is a vicious, cold and underhand politician, just like Rudd, who is interested in her own career path more than she is interested in Australia or Australians.

And, yes, our system of politics is now dysfunctional, with Prime Ministers from Keating, through Howard to Rudd and now Gillard acting like cowboy presidents.

Dozens of callers to radio stations have been daily lamenting the ‘loss of democracy’ since what some of them call a ‘coup’. The political illiteracy of Australians has again come to the fore. The Prime Minister does not even get a mention in the Constitution; Australians do not elect the Prime Minister, they elect a stooge to do a political party’s bidding. It wouldn’t matter so much if our Prime Ministers had not started acting like autocrats; but they have. It is Prime Ministers like Keating, Howard and Rudd who have taken away our democracy with the help of gutless self-serving lackeys posing as Ministers. What has been done to Rudd is perfectly legal and a matter only for the ALP, not the rest of us.

We haven’t lost democracy because of Gillard and her gang: we have never had democracy.

Well said, Jennifer Wilson.
Posted by Leigh, Tuesday, 29 June 2010 10:47:29 AM
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The conclusions is that Gillard can not be trusted in no circumstances. She has organised isolation to the Prime Minister whom she sweared to support. She has not take advise from the nation before placing herself on the job she would not be taken otherwise. etc etc. Labor will never reach the votes of 2007 with Rudd on the new elections. To satisfy own ego, Gellard dragging whole party grom the government to the opposition for a long term.
'Not Gellard!" say people
Posted by Tatiana, Tuesday, 29 June 2010 11:01:12 AM
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I think that Jennifer has it all wrong here.

Fact is that we did not elect Rudd as president or dictator, so
when he seemingly decided to behave like one, the elected
representatives who people did vote for, got rid of him.

IMHO that is a good thing, not a bad thing.

Yes, politics is ruthless and brutal, but it always has been.
Posted by Yabby, Tuesday, 29 June 2010 11:18:21 AM
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