Malcolm In The Middle
Newcastle Herald
Saturday September 20, 2008
IT has taken 10 months, but finally federal politics is getting interesting. A one-horse race is never the most exciting spectacle, but that's what it was with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd up against the likeable but ineffective former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson.
But after a surprise and ultimately ill-fated attempt by Dr Nelson to shore up his leadership, all that has changed. In trying to thwart an expected leadership challenge from Malcolm Turnbull, Dr Nelson only succeeded in engineering his own demise. And less than 24 hours after Dr Nelson went public with his plan to ambush his rival with a shock spill of the leadership, Mr Turnbull was crowned the new king of the Liberals. With Mr Turnbull fronting the Opposition, Mr Rudd is now pitted against someone who may prove to be a real challenge. They sit across the political divide but they are alike in many ways. Both rose above difficult childhoods brought up in single-parent households to get ahead through intellect, ambition and drive. They both prefer to keep their own counsel they aren't seen as team players and neither really needs to draw their parliamentary salary. Along with former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, they're in a league of their own when it comes to wealthy politicians. By and large, Mr Rudd has delivered far less than was expected from Labor after nearly 12 years in the political wilderness. Kevin07 has been hijacked by Kevin the bureaucrat, and much of his agenda has been bogged down in process reviews and committees shadow most policy. That will have to change with the Turnbull dynamo in his wake. The first test will be next Tuesday's Newspoll, when the Liberal Party will get to see whether the public is on board for the Turnbull experiment. Decent and hardworking, Dr Nelson nevertheless failed to cut through with the electorate. Poor opinion polls were part of his undoing. A bounce for the Liberals in Newspoll will get the new Opposition Leader off to a good start. He will be helped by the Prime Minister, who is heading to New York on Monday for the United Nations General Assembly, giving his rival carte blanche to strut his stuff in Parliament and get his face on the evening news bulletins. The fresh contest in the House of Representatives isn't the only change to add some spark to political debate in this country. With much less fanfare than the Turnbull-Nelson showdown, Queensland maverick Barnaby Joyce beat Nigel Scullion to take the job of Nationals leader in the Senate. Since adding his country charm to the relatively dour upper house three years ago, Senator Joyce has crossed the floor more than 20 times. His was a crucial vote as the Coalition took control of the Senate with a one-vote majority at the 2004 election. The elevation of the former accountant from St George comes at a time of mixed fortunes for the Nationals. In NSW, the former state National MP turned independent, Rob Oakeshott, nabbed the seat of Lyne from the Nationals in a byelection following the resignation of former leader Mark Vaile. Yet it's a different story out west. Brendan Grylls has played the West Australian Nationals into the centre of the political debate in the resource-rich state. His decision to cut the Nationals free from its coalition with the Liberals has paid solid dividends, doing much to boost the brand in Western Australia. It's a similar strategy that has been adopted by Senator Joyce since taking up his Senate seat in mid-2005. He does what he thinks is best for his constituency and he's made it clear that there's no guarantee he'll toe the Coalition line, even now that he has a leadership role. The biggest fear for the Liberals may be that it's not only Senator Joyce who could be crossing the floor from now on, but his four party colleagues, as well. In its present form, every vote counts in the Senate. Without the Liberals on side, the Government needs an extra seven votes to pass legislation, and it may be willing to horse trade with the Nationals. As an added bonus, the Government would love the fallout as it creates a wedge in the Coalition. Just when the nation was about to nod off, suddenly there's reason to sit up and take notice. AAP
© 2008 Newcastle Herald
