Tony Abbott, the polarising ultra conservative worrier, the abrasive politician with a likable personality according to those who know him on a personal level, the Minister with a short span of attention for details according to those who dealt with him during his time in Government, and the ideological son of Bronwyn Bishop & John Howard according to himself is now our new opposition leader.
If Tony Abbott thinks he can justify or legitimise his 41 to 42 election by quoting an old LABOUR politician saying "One vote is a landslide", then he has already displayed his naivety as he embarks on the rough road ahead.
And a rough road ahead it will be! Simply because Abbott's election today, not only does not put an end to division in the party, it in fact polarises the Liberal Party more than ever before, with the worse possible scenario similar to what has happened to the Republican Party since the election of George Bush in 2000.
The main reason for this claim is due to the fact that Abbott's election in fact raises more unanswered questions about the opposition than actually answering any existing ones! Having said that, let's leave the political analysis to the so called media experts & political reporters, the same experts who had told us Hockey was going to win the spill comfortably!
Instead, let's imagine being a fly on the wall this morning & listening to the reaction to the news! I am sure some of the following comments were floating around today, some of which raise valid questions about the opposition & Mr Abbott & some which, in the great Australian tradition, would take the mickey out of them!
"Abbott claims he would be the ideological love child of Bronwyn Bishop & John Howard! How relevant are those to the young people in the 21st century in Australia?...and who is Bronwyn Bishop?!"
" Let's assume the opposition sends the ETS to a Senate Committee (Sir Humphrey Appleby of Yes Minister fame would have been proud because he would have done exactly the same about a policy which needed to be delayed!), the question remains: What is their policy going to be in February 2010? Are they really suggesting they will have a cohesive, credible policy by Feb 2010 i.e. in less than 2 months?"
" If Abbott claims "One vote is a landslide!", what makes him think he won't be challenged soon? Another spill, and only one vote would need to be reversed & he will be toppled!"
"Will this mean that after years of being ignored by all leaders, Bronwyn Bishop will get herself a decent hairdo before coming back to the front bench?"
"Since Abbott won the leadership by 41 to 42 votes, how strong will his leadership be & how much authority will he have? Would he have to accommodate every one of the 42 who voted for him?"
" How do the "Powers That be" in the Party propose to sell a polarising personality to the electorate when they have been claiming Malcolm Turnbull was polarising?"
"Are the "Climate Sceptics" conservative mob any better than the "former Union Officials" infested Rudd Government? probably not! Just as pig headed & self centred"
"All Abbott & Minchin have achieved today is letting Rudd look decisive & credible on climate change without having to explain his policy to the public!"
"What's the difference between the ruthless union aligned powerbrokers in the Labour Party & how they disregard & sacrifice the Party's best interest to protect their own power base, and the likes of Nick Minchin in the Liberal party!...NOTHING!"
"Doesn't Tony Abbott realise that Rudd & Labour Party will easily make him & his backers an election subject? ...as evident by the TV ads which were obviously produced earlier and went to air this afternoon?""Would Peter Costello be sad, or smirking today?"
"Will Minchin, Abbott & the rest of the conservative powerbrokers now attempt to finish off the bloodletting by getting rid of the talented moderate frontbenchers who backed Malcolm Turbull & instill more right wing climate sceptics in the shadow cabinet?"
"They would have been a lot more credible in the eyes of the public if they had a viable easier alternative like a carbon Tax and then attempted to block the ETS!"
"Will his spin doctors teach him to drop that constant annoying "Urrrr .......Ummmm.." after every 3rd word he utters?"
But the winning remark has to go an actual interview with Bob Hawke! When asked today what kind of leader will Tony Abbott make, he said..... "Temporary!"
More questions for Mr Abbott & his team later!
