579 the ALP is not finished.
We need a scrub up, partly our own fault.
And a second shower to remove the taint from this country's worst ever opposition and its Medea Friends.
You have got it right.
If Abbott turns from the worst, most negative leader his party ever had.
To our worst ever Prime Minister,as he is promising to be.
He could be defeated by that blue cattle dog of Bill Hayden's.
And ,within 12 months, the anti carbon tax/global warming crowd, will be trying to forget the words we never will.
Global warming will be proven true, our part in it, and only the impacts unknown.

Alister Drysdale has written quite a few articles
in the Business Spectator on Malcolm Turnbull,
and Tony Abbott. Drysdale is a Business Spectator
commentator and a former senior adviser to
Malcolm Fraser and Jeff Kennett. Drysdale points
out that these days - we are "watching a political
soap opera unfold. The story of leadership
tensions is never ending."

He reminds us of Opposition leaders who never made it
to the lodge - Bill Snedden, Bill Hayden, Andrew Peacock,
John Hewson, Alexander Downer, Simon Crean, Kim Beazley,
Mark Latham, Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, and to this
point, Tony Abbott.

Drysdale infers that the general sense of political
instability is caused by the current leadership of the
Opposition. "Tony Abbott raises the temperature and noise
level of the political debate and shows us a pretty ordinary
front bench."

Drysdale tells us that "The Opposition of course is in an
enviable position. It can paint the government "as the most
incompetent in Australia's history" and have it faithfully
reported. It can continue to oppose almost everything the
government proposes; knowing it has the public largely
onside, along with sections of the media set on regime
change - whatever the price."

"It can continue with its own "aspirational" policies that
are not set in stone. It can continue to dig up dirt files
and call for instant elections, thus adding to a general
sense of political instability."

As for the Prime Minister - Drysdale says that -
"It's about doing her job and putting the National
Interest first. It's about delivering good public policy
and hoping that translates into good politics. It's
about substance - not sham."

Drysdale confirms that there is one calm, reasoned,
and intelligent exception - to Mr Abbott's
"pretty ordinary front bench." And that is -
Malcolm Turnbull!

Lexi,

Alistair has written many opinion pieces heavily in favour of the Gillard government. Many making predictions of a comeback for Juliar and an Atrophying of Abbott. Most of his predictions have gone very wrong.

His latest essentially says that Juliar should acknowledge that her goose is cooked and continue with the "reform" agenda irrespective of the polls and media as she has 18 months more of government.

The only flaw in his logic is that while Labor might retain power for 18 months, with the dismal polls and Thomson /FWA scandal, the chance is that She will be gone long before Abbott. The next 18 months is about saving the furniture, not reducing labor to a minor party.

While the polls seemed to indicate that Labor was recovering, as reality sets in, the next challenge might provide an "anyone but Juliar" candidate.

Belly,
You are living in hopes. You put to much emphasis on the party leader. That seems to be a failing of Labor. Your party seems to think the leader is the be and end all of the party. You continuely are looking for a messiah to lead you in from the wilderness.

No one knows how Abbott will go as PM, he may well be outstanding, and there is no way of assessing that now. Look at some of our Prime Ministers and their humble beginnings. I could not see a Liberal Cabinett allowing the situation to get as bad as Labor has. The first mistake was appointing a show pony, in Rudd, with a big ego. Then tossing him aside for a female, simply to get the womens vote, another failure. Turnbull is the same mold as Rudd with an ego to match.

Sorry but the wheels have fallen off the AGW band wagon, you have picked the wrong horse there. Time will show more and more the sceptics are right. The Libs can stop the boats, as proven before, and will better manage any projects undertaken.

My wish list is to stop the boats, abolish multiculturalism and reduce immigration. Oh, and train our own skilled labour.

For those of you who are still in doubt concerning
Malcolm Turnbull as an alternative to Tony Abbott
as Prime Minster I suggest that you have a good
read of the link I gave earlier:

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

Norman Abjorensen gives us a summation of Tony Abbott
from a historical perspective. And reminds us that
Mr Abbott "won the leadership by a single vote,
of course, after an extraordinary ballot at the end
of 2009 that saw Malcolm Turnbull's leadership declared
vacant, the nominal challenger Joe Hockey eliminated in
a three-way ballot and in the final ballot several
Liberals who voted to unseat Turnbull returning to his
camp when faced with the alternative of Abbott."

Abjorensen stresses that "any protracted slide in Mr
Abbott's poll ratings will see a nervous party move
to dump him. And of course a now patient, but still
ambitious Malcolm Turnbull has decided to remain in
Parliament as a clear alternative and a far less polarising
figure."

We are told that "Mr Abbott has always been a divisive
figure even within his own party..."

Read the link and find out why.

Dear Banjo,

Rubbish. We have an excellent idea of how Mr Abbott
will be as Prime Minister.
Read the following link and find out the inside story:

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