In voter land the message from the Hill was plain for all to see.
After the political assassination of a popularly elected leader, there was some support for our first female Prime Minister, but Labor suffered and barely hung onto power at the last election.
Then, with the formal leadership challenge of a year ago, the Australian people were confronted with the gob-smacking sight of a political gang running riot, seeking to assassinate Rudd a second time around.
Unlike Julius Caesar, Rudd survived, twice, to fight another day, but Labor has earned no favours through the exercise of brutal politics unhinged from the will of the people.
Rudd may have been a difficult boss, but when we witnessed a red-faced mob gripping the throat of power, they exposed themselves as less worthy of our trust.
Were they simply too chaotic to be allowed to run a nation?
The saga of the mining tax has revealed such a high level of incompetence, we are left wondering why the key political heads involved have not yet rolled.
Company heads exhibiting such failure do not survive.
It will now be in the hands of the electorate to wield the executioner’s axe and as the voter’s hand hovers above the ballot paper, confused citizens may be left wondering if Labor is just a branch office of the Liberals, since their refugee policies now imitate those of Howard, resurrected like Hamlet’s ghost.
As the pencil falls, feelings about cutting the income of single parents may direct the mark, a matter now being questioned at the United Nations [1].
As the pencil moves, many may feel the pain of fracking for gas under their feet, poisoning the ground and water.
They may not be pleased with their vote, but at least they will have a clearer idea of who they voted for and why.
For many, the feeling will be that of revenge.
Before the polling day arrives, we may be left wondering how soon Kevin Rudd will return to the Labor leadership, whether before or after this year’s election, with his rubbery back and cast iron throat.
At this phase in the political cycle, his most likely leadership would be in opposition, as Labor licks its wounds and rebuilds an electable reputation.
The tarnished pages of the past three years will close and politicians will learn that what the people decree really does matter.
They will learn that power is not just a prize to be taken by force, but in a democracy, it is a responsibility to be honoured with trust.
For now we suffer from political boredom, wondering if the slow waltz to ballot day will grind on month beyond month in an eternity of uncertainty.
Or will Labor politicians, fearing political annihilation and unemployment, raise up the Rudd banner once again, like Napoleon returning from exile to have his 100 days and meet their Waterloo.
Such an upturn would be welcomed by the people of the nation, to sweep aside the boredom that now grips the news and deliver some real political sport.
And just maybe, the resilient Kevin Rudd will rally the nation for an unexpected victory and turn his Waterloo into political triumph at the poll.
NOTES ~
‘UN monitors question single parent welfare cuts’
Sally Sara, ABC News Online, 4 March 3013
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-04/un-monitors-question-single-parent-welfare-cuts/4550662
