I will try to keep it short.

All of your concerns come out loud and clear.

Firstly to the booers outside the Sydney Town
Hall - give it a rest in blaming only Labor and the
Greens. Who really knows what the booers felt, who
they were politically,
and why they booed. It's all conjecture.
The fact remains as the media tells us - many
Australians are very unhappy with the current
political agenda in this country at present.
And I for one believe that it's only going to
get worse.

As for your strident views on asylum seekers, et
and anti-Muslims? I understand your concerns.
It's so easy to buy into what the media presents
and the political rhetoric. I haven't been back
to Sydney for decades - so I really am in no
position to judge what has happened to areas of
Sydney. I may get quite a shock as you point out.

However, logic dictates that most Muslims in this
country are not a problem - judging from statistics
given of the trouble-makers, their numbers appear
quite small in comparison to the Muslim population.
It's the extremists within the group that cause
problems and we need to find better ways and better
programs with the help and co-operation of the
Muslim communities to find better solutions to this
problem because as was pointed out - this is a
problem that is ongoing.

As for Tony Abbott's unpopularity - the following link
may help clarify things for you:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-22/dunlop-trust-me-abbott-is-a-pm-without-power/5470764

OP, "This discussion is not meant as an attack on Mr Abbott. That would be an utterly shallow approach"

What a crock of *bleep* on both counts, as demonstrated by the need to deny form tors the rather obvious political partisanship that infers the challenge of a strong leaders from the disrespectful boos of serial protesters, the usual rent-a-crowd.

It is passive aggression, simple as. Nothing to see here, but surprised at the patient souls who can be bothered responding to an answering machine on continuous loop, as political partisans always are.

In the news Obama has become a lame duck President as his previous supporters cast around again, as is their regular ritual, to find another who will tell them what they want to hear. Recycle moneybags Hilary Clinton and try again with the mantra, 'All women MUST support the Sisterhood of very well off educated white women'?

'A few people have commented here about how Islam threatens us. '

actually Campbelli the regressive denialist are a far greater threat. They are happy to promote the murder of tens of thousands of unborn each year and are deliberatley ignorant to the teachings of Mohammed as you have chosen to be of Christ. They also seem to ignore the daily terrorist attacks on Israel and are happy to highlight deaths caused by Muslims using kids as human shields. Then again I suppose their selective memory of the history of secularist such as Stalin, Mao and currently North Korea is in line with their dishonesty.

otb,

I'm sorry that you feel that way and have
as usual nothing new to add to any discussion.
I can simply respond as politely as possible
and repeat for your benefit that a leader who
is seen to have integrity and the nation's
better interests at heart uses this goodwill to
convince the masses their policies are in the
national interest. If you start from a position
of goodwill a leader has the chance to confront
unpopular issues (think Hawke and Howard).

However problems arise if the public don't trust,
and don't like you. There's little you can do to
advocate your agenda (think Gillard, think Abbott).

Normally as stated earlier the slide in personal
attributes takes a number of years. The warning for
Tony Abbott is the slide has occurred before he's
really started.

The following link clarifies a few things for you:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-22/dunlop-trust-me-abbott-is-a-pm-without-power/5470764

Blaming me for discussing the man's failings is not logical.
This is a discussion after all - and I am not attacking
the man - simply responding to comments and
citing what's in the news and media.
If you want to blame someone - blame them. The general
consensus in the country at present is not looking
good for any of the major parties. Neither leader
seems to be popular even in their own parties -
and it will be interesting to see how quickly they'll dump
their leader once they look like they might lose the
next election.

Quote, "Blaming me for discussing the man's failings is not logical"

LOL, nice try. Well, not nice really, but yes to trying.

No-one is doing that, but as discussed in my post above, the OP is desperately trying to get some traction for speculative gossip. So negative.

Dear runner,

You have a very, very, bad habit (along with a few on
this forum) of making assumptions about people
you don't really know.

Prejudice is an irrational,
inflexible attitude and one of its key features is
that its always rooted in generalisations. Just because
a person gives certain links in a discussion - does not
necessarily mean that this is their personal opinion.
They may be merely trying to introduce some balance
that for example there are more than one religious
group guilty of atrocities. I also don't understand
your self-proclaimed "Christian" attitude - you attack
others and pre -judge them - yet you don't make allowances
for what you in effect are doing yourself. Your behaviour
is the antithesis of what Christ teaches us - and as a
self-proclaimed "Christian" you should take note of your
own behaviour before being so dogmatic about the
behaviour of others.