Dear Hasbeen,

Sorry - but the evidence is the opposite of what you claim
about Malcolm Turnbull. He is if nothing else -
calm, well reasoned, and intelligent.
Of course it would be difficult
to agree with every view expressed by him but it would
be equally difficult to disagree with them all.
And it would be impossible to criticise any of them as
irrational or foolish. The man is far less
polarising then Mr Abbott.

And Alister Drysdale
has given a rather good summation. He knows what he's talking
about and so he should. Not only is he a regular "Business
Spectator" commentator. He was a former senior adviser to
Malcolm Fraser and Jeff Kennett. And he's in a good position
to judge what will work and what won't as far as the
leadership tensions of the Liberal Party go.

Of course you are entitled to you opinion - but it isn't
based on fact - simply your personal preference.

For those that think that Abbott is inept, the results of the past 2 years are far from luck. Everyone forgets that TA is a Rhodes Scholar, an accolade that is not given for attendance.

The positions that Abbott has taken has precisely been chosen to inflict the most damage from Labor's blunders, and sap any bounce from any victories they gained. In the last 18 months TA has not set a foot wrong, or exposed to Labor even a chink in the liberal armour to mount a counter attack.

These are not coincidences, but a high level chess game in which labor finds itself outplayed and about to lose its queen. It is precisely because Abbott has surrounded himself with far more intellectual horsepower than resides in the Labor camp.

Abbott as PM in 18 months will confound his critics as he has done over the past 24 months.

Tony Abbott as a Rhodes Scholar? I believe he
distinguished himself in the boxing ring at Oxford.
Which of course would explain the fact that he's
a street fighter, willing and able to weaponise
whatever blunt object he finds close to hand.
And in politics what seems to matter to the Coalition
under his leadership is that Mr Abbott can use any
issue as a bludgeon with which to renew his attack
on the government ('cause he wants to be PM so badly),
and the current PM's character.

And as for not setting a foot wrong? Mr Abbott hasn't
taken a positive step in any direction - so how could
he set a foot wrong? He hasn't done anything yet -
except cause havoc and destruction. Is that the kind
of man - we want as Prime Minister?

In the Howard Ministery he was initially kept
in a position where he could do the least damage.
And later as Minister for Health - we do know
what happened to the hospital systems.

BTW: -Malcolm Turnbull was also a Rhodes Scholar -
but the man actually did distinguish himself
academically - and later in his professional life.

Your team is losing badly, and Abbott is responsible. As far as chaos is concerned, the disastrous government policies are the sole responsibility of the Labor government. Their lies that Abbott has used against them with such good effect are of their own making.

I refer you all again to the following link:

http://inside.org.au/tony-abbott-prime-minister/

In which some interesting points are raised:

They are as follows -

What is rather disturbing is that as late as 2010 -
these comments came from Mr Abbott: -

"Poverty is ...a function of individual behaviour..."

And:

" What the housewives of
Australia need to understand as they do the ironing is ..."

As the article tell us:

"This from a public figure suggests someone quite blind or
unwilling to see the profound social changes of the
past four decades."

And -

"It all points to the fact that scattergun tactics which
can and do rattle a government may simply not translate
into office."

"Does Mr Abbott have a statesmanlike side Or whether
he is what he appears to be - a one trick pony?"

That is a question we need to ask - but more then that -
are we willing to take the risk?

Lexi,

If all you can find is 2 non PC tiny gaffes, from 2 years ago, then you are seriously grasping at straws. TA has conducted himself in a far more statesman like fashion than Juliar Gillard who has gone from self created crisis to crisis.

Saying she has full confidence in Thomson when the whole country believes he is a crook is both recent and very undignified.