Rudd's downfall: A win for factional powerbrokers & a loss for democracy in Australia"

The factional powerbrokers of Labour Party had no choice! Poll driven politics is about doing all you can to stay in power & is not that much different to the way things are done in the world of business!

As the equivalent of the board of directors of the savage & result & poll driven modern day politics, they had no choice but to sack their equivalent of MD/CEO whose faltering performance was negatively affecting their stock price (popularity) with their shareholders (the voting public).

Labour's right & in particular NSW right have become adapt at executing their faltering leaders! They, the powerbrokers are the real winners and the main loser is democracy in Australia! As Mark Latham aptly put it on the weekend ".....the modern day Labour Party contracts its leadership to the best salesperson"

The critical point to consider now is the fact that factional powerbrokers in the Labour Party continue to maintain their stronghold on power even though their advice was in part responsible for the poor performance of the government & the policy decisions that made Kevin Rudd's popularity nosedive in the polls & for them to decide to remove him from power. NSW is another classic example of this fact!

Take NSW right as an example of why factional powerbrokers are bad for democracy:

Senator Mark Arbib & other NSW Right powerbrokers were instrumental in the election & downfall of NSW Premiers Morris Iemma & Nathan Rees, as well as the election & downfall of Kevin Rudd

NSW Right has installed 3 Premiers & pulled the plug on two in the past few years based on its own policy agenda & in order to change the party's sinking electoral fortunes. Its powerbrokers have left a trail of destruction behind for greener pastures of federal politics. They helped Kevin Rudd win the election in 2007 & were reportedly instrumental in convincing him to drop his emission trading policy. This decision was the final nail in Rudd's downward spiral in opinion polls. Then as a matter of necessity, they hatched a plot to replace him with Julia Gillard in order to win the next election! And that is what I mean by saying that the real winners are the faceless powerbrokers & the real loser is democracy.

Bill Shorten is one of the Union backe poerbrokers reportedly instrumental in Rudd's downfall

Notwithstanding my contention above, it is difficult to feel any sympathy for Kevin Rudd as a politician, although I am certain he & his family will go through a difficult time. It is universally acknowledged that Kevin Rudd's downfall had much to do with multiple factors such as his arrogance, overbearing attention to detail without actually implementing any major policy, lack of consultation, lack of delegation to his ministers, dismissive & rude behaviour & as Professor Robert Manne states in his article in the July issue of the Monthly, ..." a deep confusion & unresolved tension between words & action".

Nevertheless, ultimately it was Kevin Rudd's lack of understanding & appreciation of the powerful influence of factional powerbrokers in the Labour Party that brought about his eventual downfall and what Tony Abbott cheekily termed "Sussex St assassination". Powerbrokers (on both sides of politics, not just labour) are here to stay at the expense of democracy.