Can't argue with that, Arjay.

>>Pericles,Labor haven't a clue what the needs of the country are.What hope have they of picking a leader who that can be effective? They will pick a leader that the media ordains as electable,not one who can think independantly or fix our economy.<<

Once upon a time (he said, showing his age) you could rely upon socialists to be a little more, errr, socialist, and the conservatives to be honest capitalists.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the line, the "narrative" (how I loathe that word) has changed. Well, not changed, exactly. Disappeared would be closer to the mark. All political positioning is now opinion-poll driven, with principles a distant, fading memory. And opinion polls themselves are pure fodder for the media, who shamelessly work them into whatever agenda they happen to believe sells better at the time.

What will happen is that we will be equally unhappy with the next lot. And be equally surprised and disappointed to be so.

Based on comments so far we here in OLO are Representative.
Talk back radio, much like us is full of comments.
And like us good bad ugly and just plain silly.
Hung Parliament has given us a reason to let others form our opinions.
And to form them based on wrong in put.
Any left of center voter should hope Gillard leaves.
I see Anthony saying Greens, yet it is them who in part cripple the ALP.
Gillard, driven to power by a thought *any one but Rudd*
Has taken the party much lower than him.
She, with all the good will in the world, without a Kevin Rudd, can not win an election.
Sacking Rudd?
To preserve the most unimpressive leader bar Latham and Crean?
A triple dead heat that linked in policy's and failure these three are best forgotten.
the ALP must confront this return to 1975.
I have spoken of it,that legendary government.
It end, its achievements, but too, a Medea intent on creating story's then feeding on them.
Make no mistake ALP did and again is is feeding that fire too, in fact pro Gillard anti Rudd forces drive these headlines.
My party must get the knifing over then get on with business.
A Bob Hawk is waiting to again repeat history as Liberals, as Big Mal did then fall from grace.

pericles Can you explain what is wrong with the economy.
There will not be a challenge.
Rudd supporters say not next week but one day.
Julia will sort this out monday, Rudd has been given notice, to attend Julia's office.

Pericles,

Do you think that major changes in the economy and class structure may have had something to do with it ? I did ten years in factories in the sixties and seventies and every one of those jobs would be gone by now, automated and computerised. And moved overseas.

In the meantime, thanks to Gough's free tertiary education, an entire class of rentier-salariat has been broadened immensely, ex-working class kids who - thirty and forty years later - are calculating their options, whether to vote Green out of nostalgia for their proletarian roots, or Coalition to protect and foster their current assets and future prospects.

In other words, the class-base for Labor has shrunk, with the aspirationals turning either right to the Coalition OR towards the Greens, THEN right to the Coalition; and the True Believer working-class waiting for the world to go back to what it used to be.

It could be a very memorable year.

Well, I for one, hope Belly is right.
Anthony
http://www.observationpoint.com.au

Gillard can't afford to sack that useless git just yet because she still needs the vote of the mindless who support him.