In the Fairfax press today was a story by Shaun Carney, one of the more perceptive writers in the Fairfax stable.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/men-say-no-to-pm-in-droves-20111017-1ltev.html

He says:"AUSTRALIA'S first woman prime minister has serious man trouble. Male voters have turned on Julia Gillard with a vengeance since the start of the year, driving her dive in the polls.

An analysis of monthly Age/Nielsen polls for 2011 shows a powerful and seemingly intractable resistance to the Prime Minister among most men."

and

"In February, men were still viewing Ms Gillard favourably, with 48 per cent approving of her performance and 47 per cent disapproving. Women approved of the Prime Minister 55-39. Then the big male switch-off began."

and

"In the latest poll, 65 per cent of men disapprove of her performance and 31 per cent approve. It was the fifth consecutive poll in which Ms Gillard has attracted these sorts of numbers."

Does this sound right to the OLO audience? What's driving this massively gender-correlated shift in opinion? Is it just the woeful performance that the ALP has put in, or is it deeper? Have men simply switched off the idea of having a woman in charge and if so, why?

Speaking for myself, I think we've seen what happens when someone allows themself to be convinced by spruikers and urgers to take on something they're ill-equipped to do. It's an example of promoting someone above their ability and it's the problem facing businesses all across this country with the push for more women on boards (just because they're women, not because they're good).

Gillard was put in the job as a sop to the powerful feminist lobby within the ALP in a cynical attempt to buy the female vote. It seems to ahve worked to some extent, but women aren't stupid and they've seen the result.

Somehow, I don't like the chances of another ALP female PM for some time.

It may be the sole positive outcome from Gillard's tenure.

I am a man, who sees no value in Gillard, and never did, particularly when she was the DEEWR minister, where she did a shocking job with education and proved to be as anti worker as Rudd and Brereton and Keating were.

Let us not forget that the ALP also turned on Rudd, and so did the voting population, so this is not just a 'female' or 'Gillard' thingy.

"It's an example of promoting someone above their ability" pretty well sums it up here, and Gillard is not alone is she, given Rudd's spectacular demise still fresh in everyone's memory?

And, while we are at it, let's not forget the incompetence of Abbott and his crew. They may be 'more popular' than Gillard but that is only because she is soooo badly thought of.

Were Abbott to get in, as he probably will, I rather doubt we will be returning to some 'lost Nirvanah' from the Howard era but plunging into a Great Gatsby style self-satisfied era of total nonsense, and ever more 'God' involved too.

Margaret Thatcher was a leader. Ms Gillard is simply deperate to hang on to power after knifing the PM to get it. It is only the rusted on sisterhood that try and defend the indefensible.

The unavoidable truth is more men will never vote for her than will, many more.
And that More women will never Vote for Abbott than ever will.
Also more will never vote green more than 5 to 1 than ever will.
We are not well lead
However the first two are not far from leadership change.
The third? even that will change nothing.

Margaret Thatcher is also a borderline genius with a ferocious intellect, Ms Gillard isn't even in her league in that regard.

Bi partisanship is the reason I don't vote,gender doesn't concern me, give me an alternative platform which espouses a progressive, Civic Nationalist agenda and I'll look it over.

Many of us were suckered by the idea of being part of history with the first female PM. What a freakin disaster that has turned out to be. It's like we suddenly woke up communists hoping the next election is not suspended - in the national interest.

Our economic future has been mortgaged for the next fifty years, shared parenting is outlawed, “Hate Men” laws are about to be enacted that promote divorce, tear apart families, pauperize and criminalize fathers, and take our children away reducing us to worker drones for the state. Family & property rights destroyed our children will be exploited and inculcated for the next generation of welfare addicted voters by the powerful feminist ideologues and socialist engineers of all sorts for whom children serve as so much grist for the mill of extra-familial schemes and ambitions.

No-one realised the extent of radical feminist anti-male ideology waiting to be unleashed. Although the warning signs were there - three existent ministers/shadow ministers/spokesperson for the "Status of Woman" in the Government, a Minister for "social inclusion", lesbians seemingly by the truckload including one who coincidentally became a “father” while the Green Prime Minister forced his “gay marriage” agenda down our throats, which the childless Gillard pretends to resist. And has full confidence in the Minister for Escort Services

How can a lesbian Senator married to a trans man, get elected let alone preside with a former ALP Feminist leader over family law amendments which take “He said” out of “He said/she said” and remove all penalties for lying. Men's rights, property, children and future income are not being represented by this government and are at risk of forfeit for generations.

If we continue to allow our attention to be monopolized by carbon tax and government financial management and leave family policy to the socialists from the Australian Lesbian Party with Bob Brown commanding from on top of Mt Sodom will discover only once it is too late the power of “the hand that rocks the cradle.” Call your senator now to stop the family violence amendments.