Please Mirko, bring back Rudd, you've got to be kidding.

While I realise it must be hard for someone like you to simply say, "toss the whole bunch of w4nkers out", that is the only solution.

Yes Julia has no idea, or ideas, but Rudd, god save us. He's proven totally incompetent, vindictive & self serving, even more than the little lady.

Unlike Julia, clueless & idea less, Ruddy has lots of ideas, all too often & too close together. Not only that he implements them with a few minutes consideration, to make way for yet another half backed idea come policy.

The worst thing about Rudd flying anywhere was that he would land with at least 3 more flashes of his kind of destructive brilliance.

The main thing we must do, for the next 18 months, is to try to prevent Julia or Ruddy having any more ideas, or implementing any they do have. With their track record, anything this government does will be another disaster.

Possibly, Macedonian advocacy.

>>It is time for new leaders to emerge in Australian politics. At the last election, there was a string of new talent that joined the Australia Parliament. These young people should be promoted to the front bench.<<

But how many of these do not owe their election to parliament to a "faction"? What exactly will make them different from the current crop?

I suspect - but feel free to correct me with examples - that they all arrived there through the same corrupt system of insider dealing and "preselection", organized and blatantly manipulated by powerbrokers who consider the voters' interests entirely irrelevant.

We are poorly served by the system as it stands. I think an appropriate description would be that we are muddling through a post-democratic phase, having lost the script entirely. Who feels properly "represented" by our government, I wonder? Certainly not Liberal supporters. And a goodly percentage of Labour voters might be somewhat confused as to what our "democracy" has served them up, too.

Mirko has put together a very cogent article (though he should get someone to check his grammar - but one or two little annoyances don't disqualify his message).

As for the 'fringe-dwellers', Gillard set up the government, and the terms, and it has always been up to her to 'manage' the situation effectively and responsibly. She has failed to do this. The fact that it was always going to be difficult to manage such a cliff-hanger minority government - because of the disparate vested interests involved - is no excuse. She went into it with her eyes open - determined to form government, to take her place in history, not only as the first female PM, but even more importantly as the first female PM to win re-election - a double honour; a double disaster in the making.

Honour? The behind the scenes wheeling and dealing by both major party leaders in the scramble to form government 'at any cost' proved there was a distinct lack of honour - and this reality has been soundly confirmed ever since. Oakshott, a traitor to his espoused affiliations; Windsor, sold his electorate to the highest bidder (with NBN promises the jewel in the crown - and since confirmed); Wilke, seduced by promises; Brown always 'in the bag', but with a few hefty strings attached. Katter, withdrew, with honour intact. Abbott - offered all, threw honour out the window, for 'the cause', for Liberal/National ideals, but most importantly in a last ditch effort to 'save' the nation from an inevitable Labor-led plunge into wealth redistribution, deficit budgets, resource mis-management, and whacky fringe-dweller-induced spin and ineffectual poster-boy legislation.

I disagree with Mirko that the next election is a done-deal; Abbott's poor performance has made Gillard look way better than she deserves in the polls - and he may yet succeed where she has failed, and give her the next election, 'on a plate'.

Rudd? Is history.

Pericles:"I think an appropriate description would be that we are muddling through a post-democratic phase, having lost the script entirely."

I agree. Neither party has the confidence of the people, because neither party can be trusted to make decisions based entirely on national interest considerations. That disenfranchises us all. I feel ever more justified for saying "a pox on both your houses" last election and not bothering to vote.

The author simplisticly forgets how much worse Rudd was

"If Rudd does return, the temptation will be to have a more inclusive, consultative government"

Rudd relied on a inner circle of 3 other politicians (which included Gillard) and two advisers. This lack of democratic style brought blanket complaints from Labor Ministers and backbenchers.

Rudd can also be identified as the main reason for the carbon tax - as he made that odd tax a believable need for most powerful voting, bloc the swinging voters who voted Greens.

Abbott with his divisive, (Cardinal Pell instructed) rightwing Catholic policies would be worse.

A late challenge by Turnbull, a moderate Liberal, is about the only forseeable hope in the next two years.

Pete

Can any-one really see Tony as a statesman. His mouth says it all. He would have the world rolling in fits of laughter. After what he said on Australia day, and now trying to shift the blame, shows how desperate this man is. I honestly do not know how the liberal camp can put up with him. He is a disgrace to politics in Australia. Has not contributed one idea for the betterment of this country. He will make a name for himself as the most negative coalition in history.