Does Abbott even want to be taken seriously?

Is he, in fact, the 'Houellebecq' of parliament?

Consider, who does he call when lost in the outback?

Answer: His Press Secretary.

Not credible, not serious.

Those that think that Tony Abbot's (TA) outspoken policies are a joke must be confounded by the recent swing in the polls.

Malcom Turnbull's reasoned approach failed to diffentiate the coalition policies sufficiently from Labor which is effectively handing the next election to the incumbents.

There is an old saying that if you cannot win, you must make your opponent lose.

As Rudd did in 2007 his policies were photocopies of the coalitions with the exception of work choices, like the choice between two nearly identical cars one of which has a cool CD player.

TA is differentiating the coalition on the issues that the majority has misgivings:
- Climate change,
- Illegal immigration,
- The budget deficit.

Finally as a character he is pushing a clean cut straight talking image as against the diplomatic, information poor, verbiage of KR.

On top of which he is hammering Labor on its broken promises (such as the private health rebate, which fits labors political aims, but for such a small return alienates many of the higher income supporters he might of had.)

The insulation program was just icing on the cake.

And of course, "Tony's taking the polls very seriously"...

"No way was the Rudd Government or Peter Garrett responsible for deaths resulting from the insulation program"

That's an interesting comment given that Garrett was warned of the safety risks on numerous occasions and did nothing. Also, if no politician is responsible, why did the PM take full responsibility.

And if Abbott takes opinion polls seriously, then perhaps you should also, as there's a possibility he will be the next PM.

To AJFA

It is an unfortunate position that most governments find themselves in, to be blamed for whatever happens to go wrong. It is unfair to expect governments to be directly responsible for the actions of crooks and idiots.

As I understand it, and I know people who were doing the insulation work legally, ethically and responsibly, there were adequate guidelines in place to ensure that safe working conditions could be met. The problems resulted from those who ignored the guidelines and training and acted illegally and unethically, putting lives at risk. In other areas of work there is no expectation (is there?) that governments be held directly responsible for illegal and unethical practices. As I see it, due care was taken in how the program was set up.

Rudd's mea culpa response reflects the current political game of seeking to woo the electorate at all costs, given how much weight people place on positive media coverage, a game which Tony Abbott plays no less assiduously than Rudd.

Wal,
good on you mate

the first word of truth on this subject