How can the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and all the other federal MPs just drop everything to focus all their attention on the battle for the leadership of the Labour Party? Do they not have any work to do as part of their portfolios, or for their electorates? Do they do any work? Who is leading the Government?
One of the biggest concerns about this situation is that its more of a fight to lead the Labour Party than it is to lead the COUNTRY! Its almost as though the promised land of leading Labour comes with the annoying distraction of being in charge of Australia.
"Oh yeah, who ever wins the Labour Party leadership also has to be Prime Minister"
Its also a worry that a political party can have so much disharmony and disagreement. No matter who wins, Rudd or Gillard, how will they ever be able to get things done when they can even agree within their own party, within a minority government? Then again, does it really matter who gets in? Will they even TRY to get anything done when in power?
The Rudd v Gillard issue also shows a sorry state of affairs where politicians have their priorities so completely out of order that its a wonder how we still have electricity and running water in Australia. It seems the priorities of government Ministers are ordered like this:
- Serve your own ego. Empire build. Increase your own importance by commenting on everything from cricket to Qantas.
- Political point scoring, take the short term view to win the next election while making the least possible amount of decisions and actions.
- Allegiance to the party line, disregarding common sense, what the majority of people want, and what is needed to be done.
- Avoid all accountability and responsibility by deflecting issues to the opposition or previous government, without any hint of what you will do to solve the problem.
- And finally, as long as it doesn't interfere with the points above, and if you have time, doing what you were elected to do - govern the country.
This can be said for all politicians, no matter what party, and whether federal or state. No wonder we are a little backward in Aus! I wonder if these forgettable politicians will ever be able to look back on their careers and be proud of their achievements?
"My biggest achievement as Minister was to engage consultants to perform a study on an issue in my portfolio which was raised in the media. Nothing ever came of the study, but if anyone asked, then I was able to say that I did something about the issue. I never read the final paper, but it was completed by a reputable firm, it cost $10 million, and I got a few nice lunches out of it, so I'm sure it had some good recommendations."
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| Ever wondered what happened to your government report? Hope you didn't spend too many late nights on it! |
A favorite quote of mine is:
"All politics should be taken out of government!!"
Its mostly my favorite quote because I came up with it just now, but also because I think it rings true. How do you get out of bad situations without making the tough choices? It seems all governments in Aus are happy to lead us into oblivion, as long as it allows them to avoid potentially unpopular decisions.
So this post has meandered away from Rudd and Gillard and on to all governments in general. But maybe that's how it should be. No matter who wins, Rudd v Gillard, and whoever v Abbot at the next election, none of them will get anything done. They'll whine away about the opposition, the opposition will bullishly disagree with everything, and more studies and reports will be added to the bonfire of unread documents.
Anyhow, enough politics, Furturama has said it best anyway!
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