Politics generates myths. No doubt we will be treated to all sorts of myths about the marvels Julia Gillard would have performed if she could only have stayed in office. The truth is Julia was one of the most cack handed prime ministers of all time.
Take the election date, set for 14 September 2013. Not only is it perilously close to the G20 meeting, which Australia will lead, it's also Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day on the Jewish religious calendar. Even most secular Jews will want to go to the synagogue or stay at home. As a Jewish friend of mine said "Maybe Julia thought she had the Jewish vote in the bag already." Kevin Rudd has lived his whole life to show the world how great he is, so he will milk the G20 for all it's worth.
Expect a much later poll date. Kevin doesn't have to go until at least 30 November 2013. He likes being PM, so he doesn't want to rush things. As for the Kevin 747 sobriquet, he loves flying here and there, bringing light to a benighted world, for example Indonesia, to which he will give his helpful advice on stopping the asylum seeker boats. This, of course, will help undo the mess Rudd made when he overturned John Howard's asylum seeker policy, which had stopped the boats. Let's see how that plays in Sydney's western suburbs.
As for Bill "The Knife" Shorten, who knows where he will strike next? Bill is a graduate of Xavier College, the preserve of Melbourne's upper crust Catholics. Xavier is run, as one might expect, by the Jesuits. Bill's Dad however had some dubious friends, among them the leaders of Melbourne's most notorious criminal union, the Painters and Dockers. Few members of the Painters and Dockers did not have an extensive criminal record. His Mum was a clerical worker who went on the earn a law degree and did some teaching.
As far as wielding the knife is concerned, Bill "has form" as they say. He knocked off the sitting member for Maribyrnong (not much of a loss) Bob Sercombe, who was also, rather unusually, a member of the Shadow Cabinet. Then he knifed Kevin 747 to promote Julia Gillard to the Lodge, then he knifed PM Julia Gillard and promoted Kevin 747 back to PM. Who will feel his blade next?
As for Kevin 747, he will be off overseas again, especially as Parliament has risen and he doesn't have pesky things like Question Time to worry about. Some good men like Martin Ferguson have exited Parliament for good. Stephen Smith has returned to the Golden West and will be Canberra bound no more. Smith, who accepted the poisoned chalice of Defence, may have decided discretion is the better part of valour. Why can't Wayne Swan, who couldn't sell a relativley good economy story, take the hint and head back to Bananaland for a well earned rest?
As for the marginal seat holders who thought life with Kevin couldn't be as bad as being out of Parliament forever, just remember that those who live by the sword die by the knife -- sorry, sword.
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