Comments on: Labor blues

By: Shay

Shay — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 03:01:00 +0000

That’s two days in a row you’ve used “dire straights”. At the risk of being pedontic, I’d better point out that it’s “straits”. Yeah, I’m a bloody English teacher.

By: doylie

doylie — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 15:37:00 +0000

My parents are picket fence - and they at least respected Latham for all the same reasons that he is now being ridiculed: he talks straight, he abuses the powerful, and he didn’t tell fibs. They’ll likely vote for Johnny again, but they will also see Latham’s critique of the ALP as legit - “he should know, and good on ‘im for saying so”.

I’m over the major parties - in fact, over polar politics altogether - but I think that Latham and his outbursts are good for what remains of Australian labour.

By: Antony Loewenstein

Antony Loewenstein — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 05:18:00 +0000

One may have a splintering of support away from the major parties, to the Greens and smaller parties.
Beazley may well get elected, but to simply presume he’d be a better PM, more compassionate, more independent of the US etc, is wishful thinking, I reckon.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 04:54:00 +0000

“Many people may not wait around to find out.”

Where are they going to go?

By: Guy

Guy — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 04:27:00 +0000

I was surprised at Sheridan’s optimism as well, but by the same token I think he raises a good point about Beazley’s everyman character. He may not be a dynamic leader but he is one that quite a lot of people retain some affection for.

Latham’s credentials are certainly open to question. Some of the criticisms he draws are valid, but they are not new ones, and at least from what I have seen so far, he has communicated them in an ineffective way.

Like it or not, the ALP hold government in every state and territory in the country. They must be relevant, otherwise the majority of people are voting for something they consider irrelevant.