The recent passing of Margaret Thatcher, the visionary & polarising Iron Lady of British politics brought about the inevitable comparisons with Julia Gillard.
But whilst Thatcher was a politician of very strong convictions & as a result polarised the electorate in UK, Julia Gillard has failed to demonstrate conviction of any kind & her stuttering track record of broken promises & poor policy implementations has left her a mere polarising figure in the eyes of the voters in Australia.
Just look at her latest attempt to define herself:
Kevin Rudd's attempt at Minerals Super Profits Tax was viewed by some as a Robin Hood style wealth redistribution.
Wayne Swan & Julia Gillard's reworked the Mineral Resources Tax & failed! It is projected to raise around 10% of the Treasury's original estimates. Having utterly failed with her hurriedly redesigned Minerals Resources Tax in 2009 shortly after dislodging Rudd, Julia Gillard seems to be desperately trying her hand on the "Rob Peter to pay Paul" strategy now with her Schools Funding policy in order to shore up support amongst the disillusioned voters who have kept Labor's primary vote at a disastrous 30% or so.
And she's still not getting much traction!...simply because she has not managed to create any perception of "conviction" during her time as Prime Minister.
It suffices to finish the post by reminding everyone that despite all the intense attacks on Margaret Thatcher by her opponents & the media (many justifiably) during her time as the first female British PM, not once the Iron Lady accused her detractors as misogynistic nor she ever used misogyny as an excuse for her policy failures!
