Turnbull wants the carbon tax + ETS and that will destroy our economy for no good reason.

Belly, I read the article about Rudd sleeping out. But so did
100 CEOs, leaders of Australia's top companies. So its not
a big deal and he was in very good company.

People have flawed memories, we tend to forget quickly, but do
not forget that Rudd lost the plot in the end, with his kitchen
cabinet. He is more of a natural loner, which makes being a leader
in politics more difficult. Hawke was in that sense a great leader.
You cannot compare the Rudd and Gillard Govts either. Rudd
governed in his own right, Gillard does not. She has to
bend to the 4 independants, if any of them leave she is stuffed.
I certainly would not want the job and I'm surprised that a Govt
of that structure has lasted a whole year

Belly,
I could hardly believe it. Your post on page 2 was exactly Labor party spin and I expected you to be far more pragmatic.

Turnbull is not on for the Libs and if they had a leader with more personality than Abbott, they would now be in government.

Having said that, the leader is not the only consideration, it is the ideology of the party that is questionable. There are many policy failures, both under Rudd and Gillard.

Why did Labor have to mess with the illegal boat people, it was not a problem when they took office, they created the problem. Why the massive jump in immigration? Why the stuff ups in the pink bats and the school halls business and all the other solar and mad green schemes. More recently, they reserected the Multicultural thing which was being buried, I could go on and on. The 60c/kw paid for solar in NSW will be rightly blamed on Labor stupidity and the live export is fast becoming a Labor stuff up.

I see Abbott becoming PM by default, but at least there will be Liberal parliamentarians that have a track record of 'steady as she goes' and good financial management.

What has Labor got to offer? another show pony?

The papers today (well, their websites anyway) suggest that Labor is running scared of Rudd. They needn't. If he WAS to make a comeback, they would still hold power. If they could placate Oakeshott, who seems to think reinstating Rudd would be 'messing' with him, they wouldn't have too many dramas in the short term. If they lose at the next election, then so be it. It's not like they are on a winner with Gillard anyway.

I'm not sure what Rudd is playing at here. He's suddenly seeking a higher profile once again, and coming across all humble and meek. Maybe he is reformed, maybe he is more comfortable with himself or maybe he is just being a clever politician. Gillard has yet to do any of the three - she attacked him on the anniversary of her coup, she bragged about how wonderful her government is and she has yet to do anything I would consider particularly intelligent. Even the coup was unintelligent, as far as I can tell. It resulted in a fate worse than a lost election: a (sort of) won election that will result in a spectacular showcase of incompetence and inaction. I suspect that, if Gillard runs full term, she will lose the next election and bury Labor for as long as our memories last. Unless, of course, the coalition keeps Abbott on top and he turns out to be the prize twit he often seems to be.

Rudd as PM was an incompetent control freak.

His popularity now is less to do with his rehabilitation than simply that Juliar Gillard is worse.

Labor is in a pickle, having seen the damage done to the party by deposing Rudd, and the implosion of NSW with the continual change of leaders, giving Juliar the chop would be devastating. She has also taken trouble to entrench herself and ousting her would require a serious revolt. However, it is getting close to the point where Juliar is doing more damage to the party than her execution.

I feel that she has put her personal interests ahead of the country's and is no longer fit to lead.

SM,

And Tony Abbott is?