The next elections looks to be a 'costello vs Rudd' fight for the leadership.

If the name of the game is 'leadership', then Kevin Rudd proved it by challenging Beazly and lobbying the winning.

Although Mr Costello is a seasoned treasurer, he rates poorly on leadership since he never dared to challenge John Howard on the leadership.

Unless Mr Costello challenges Howard for the leadership and win, I don't think he stands a change in front of Rudd.

Thoughts?

The Coalition isn't as keen to show any disharmony within the party as is the ALP. The ALP changes leaders like socks. It will be interesting to see how long Rudd lasts before he is shafted.

Costello did the 'honourable' thing (if that word can be applied to politicians) and he now has credits for when Howard finally gets the message that he has lost the plot. Unless Turnbull jumps the queue.

Strangely I suppose for an old woman-hater, I think the logical choice to lead the ALP was Gillard. In fact, she is the only one in that sorry mob with the quiet confidence and steady manner to do the job.

But, as usual, the ALP has blown it. We could well be seeing Labor fail to win another election al la Hewson, the last leader to stuff up after years of a tired ALP government.

very colourful birds this line of pollies in australia. we've had a hawke a peacock and now with gillard & rudd, a goose and a gander.

Not so fast pragma,

I voted for Howard twice but I am willing to vote Rudd this time.
In all honesty I can't see the great difference in agendas or impact.
looking through the hype:

- Interest rates follow the RBA and follows global trends.
- the FTA and IR reforms are wheels in motion.
- Costello failed the leadership testing: he was waiting to be 'given' the job.

As much as I see him as a good treasurer:

1. I can't see him a PM
2. Its not that difficult to 'balance' the books of a wealthy nation like Australia.

Food for thoughts,

Everyone is raving about the new messiah Kevin Rudd,who is articulate and seemingly clear thinking.Where are the others of anywhere near his ability.We have an evironmental ageing rock star in Peter Garrett,and Julia Gillard a socialist with little knowledge of economics.

All we hear from Labor is notions of social justice,ie higher taxes,and no mention of keeping the private sector strong or reducing Govt regulation or red tape.

Eventually this lot will get in through sheer complacency and bordom of the electorate,and we will all have to suffer "no talent time" at the hands of Labor economic vandals.We only have to look at the present track records of various Labor State Govts to see the writing on the wall.

arjay you're right in my view. i keep thinking of how well the states (which are all labor for time being) would be holding out if it weren't for the GST windfall which they so vehemently opposed.

It amazes me on how the monopoly that the laber and liberal party's have

one would have to say they are like the AWB

It is you who are brainwashed and take a 2 party approach there is more there it is just for you to find and then make a choice

Fellow_Human, "Costello failed the leadership testing: he was waiting to be 'given' the job", I think the circumstances are different for Costello and Rudd on this issue. Rudd bidded his time untill he was fairly confident he had the numbers, he said as much once previously. I don't think Costello has ever been in the position where a challenge to Howard would be seen as a good thing.

The difference may be that if Costello is leader of the libs at the next election he will be less experienced in that role than Rudd is as leader of Labor.

R0bert

everyone has a valid point on these forums. we may disagree strongly with some but the one positive aspect of it all is the passion everyone has re striving for an improved society. the stumbling block in reaching that goal is people. people like you & i who can not & will not agree to a common point. why ? because we all share that one trait of human nature that is the cause of all mayhem. we are not prepared to give. everyone forces their own issue 100 %. we must allow some flexibility towards others' opinions which ultimately may enable us to understand others' views better & accept or at least tolerate them. we need to accept that what seems perfectly good to one is totally unacceptable to another. i think that for a start we must push to draw attention to the unfair, authorities sanctioned misuse & distribution of public resources. the sooner people become aware the sooner we have a chance to improve this sad situation. neither peter costello nor kevin rudd can help us there. they can only rely on the feedback from the bureaucrats within the authorities. it is our duty to ensure that these bureaucrats are made accountable. btw you have to be prepared to sacrifice a lot for having integrity-well, at least in present queensland health.

It doesn’t matter if it’s Howard or Costello standing as the Coalition Leader, from the looks of things, Kevin Rudd stands a very good chance of becoming our next PM. The Coalitions’ IR Laws, war efforts in Iraq, proposal of an English Citizenship test and its failure to combat environment issues has angered Australians everywhere.

Kevin Rudd’s background and experience in foreign affairs, involvement in labour unions, business and politics puts him in good stead for the top job in Australia. It is time for a change; it is time to amend our relations with regional neighbours, to cooperate effectively with the UN and to improve our reputation as a responsible global citizen.

Kevin Rudd, while holding on to Labor core values, has to present to the public a new face that will be a vote-getter at the next Federal election.

Last week he came out quite strongly insisting he is not a socialist. “I am not a socialist. I have never been a socialist and I never will be a socialist,” he told the Thursday Melbourne Age. Socialism is “an arcane, 19th-century” doctrine which the Labor party should abandon, Rudd said.

Those who have been following Mr Rudd’s political career find his remarks curious at best, deceptive at worst. It was just three years ago when he declared himself “an old-fashioned Christian socialist”. And he has also cited Keir Hardie, a Scottish socialist and labour leader, as one of his heroes.

Another political hero of Rudd is British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has also declared war on socialism, and has attempted to take the UK in an economic third way. However, Blair is also a proud member of the Christian Socialist Movement in the UK, which is affiliated to the Labour Party.

Indeed, in seeking to portray himself as an Australian Tony Blair, Rudd has a number of problems and obstacles on his hands. His deputy, Julia Gillard, is a member of the soft left faction, and a former industrial relations lawyers. That old school way of thinking clashes with his decision to move ahead economically. Plus her strong pro-abortion stance may - or should - be problematic for Rudd’s Christian convictions.

And if he wants to emulate Blair, he will have other problems. Tony Blair recently declared that Britain’s experiment with multiculturalism is over. Yet here in Australian the Labor Party is claiming that multiculturalism is not in fact being abandoned.

He not only needs to get clear in his own mind where he wants to take Labor, but he has to get his own colleagues on side. Differences still loom large. For example, newly appointed environment minister Peter Garrett is already disagreeing with Rudd on uranium mining policy.Rudd and the Labor Party's Socialist platform...

Link to full article: http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2006/12/17/kevin-rudd-christian-socialism-and-the-new-labor-party/

Howard may go but the lack of choice remains as it has done for a decade.

Rudd showed this week that as Prime Minister he would not be a change from Howard. His biased religious values are so ingrained that he too thinks it a holy mission to sacrifice disabled pensioners to gods own dollar. That tax payers evidently pay tax for tax sake and national support for the needy is code for a communist plot.

Peter Costello no vote.Bad enough to warrant a move over seas but better the devil than Malcom Turnbull. Malcom Turnbull as PM would warrant a move to another planet.
Kevin Rudd no vote, hes shown his darkside, Howard got away with his darkside but Howard always had support of a biased media. Its doubtful Rudd could offer the media incentives to support him.

As a person who only votes on policy Rudd and Costello are not even on the radar. No doubt one will get in on the preferences of whoever I vote for just remember when they do , dont blame me , I wont be voting for either of them.

Yes you are right about choice but then people dont like choice much prefer to be dictated too.

As i have been saying on what i am doing is a choice but until people decide to honestly have a go then their only choice is what they have and nothing more.

Email swulrich@bigpond.net.au

Australian Peoples Party

Now here is a choice are you willing

have to wait and see

I say we should think about the PM we want when our grandchildren are adults (for some here that's already the case).

Forget Rudd and Costello, whoever it is he or she should understand they are here know to create the leadership we need for the future.

In this post materialist, nationalistic world our children are already declaring our system of adversial politics is dysfunctional, greedy and anti-future.

There is something irritating about Peter Costello and the thought of him being PM worries me a lot. I worry about the economy being any more unstable than it is now, and the cost of living is nowhere near as low as we are led to believe - obviously the items included in the CPI measurement are not as realistic as those real financial worries faced by real Australians.

Costello seems to me to lack genuine compassion for families in distress, and many families have found themselves in great financial difficulty seeking government assistance due to the suspicious attitude towards welfare recipients. With all the new IR laws, many Australians are only a pay cheque away from financial disaster, and many people are taking huge risks overcommitting themselves in the current economic climate when they increase their mortgages, not knowing if they can accommodate any interest rate rises as they occur.

That's my whinge for today. I am much more comfortable with Kevin Rudd at the helm of the Labor Party. Costello's exasperating and pathetic grab for the top job will only boost Rudd's chances of securing a win for Labor in the next election.

God no! If Costello got in as PM he would invite his friend Abbott along and the country would be run by Abbott and Costello LMAO Even those with a sense of humour wouldn't find that very amusing.

I would prefer to see Rudd than Costello.

Too late Freethinker, today Abbott is successful in forcing Catholic Sharia law onto Australian women.

Hi West,

LMAO :-)

It Has Begun! ....** (twilight zone musical interlude)