Posted on 08/19/2011 6:58:51 PM PDT by naturalman1975
WHEN the members of the federal parliamentary Liberal Party met to elect a new leader after its defeat on November 27, 2007, the outlook for the party and its cause, nationwide, seemed bleak. The gallows humour started early.
Campbell Newman, the Liberal Lord Mayor of Brisbane, was quickly named the most senior Liberal figure in Australia: he actually held elected office.
Not since its formation in 1944 had the Liberal Party been so bereft of political power. Labor was in office everywhere at a national, state and territory level.
The reasonable expectation was that the newly ensconced Rudd government would have at least two terms in office, more if it performed well.
Peter Costello's decision not to seek the leadership confronted Liberal MPs with a totally unexpected leadership choice between Brendan Nelson and Malcolm Turnbull. Tony Abbott wanted to stand, but could not muster enough votes to make a run respectably; so he withdrew.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
Remember - in Australia, the Liberal Party is the main conservative party and, overall (with the single glaring exception of gunrights which is nowhere near as big an issue in Australia as it is in the US) one of the most conservative Prime Ministers we have had.
one of the most fiscally responsible government for decades was under Howard. MUCH better than any US GOP National leader
Howard is probably my favorite leader since Reagan. Great man, Australia was lucky to have him.
Howard is a personal hero of mine. Excellent, excellent man.
What's your prognosis on the Carbon Tax -- done deal?
God I miss John Howard!
Not quite. It really depends on if the Prime Minister is willing to utterly destroy her government's chance of reelection or not.
She has the numbers with the support of the Greens and her pet Independents, to get the Carbon Tax through both Houses of Parliament, so she can make it happen. But she's already way behind in the polls and if she wants any chance of winning in 2013 (presuming she can hold on that long) she needs to start moving in the right direction now - a carbon tax will remove any chance she has of doing that.
At the moment, it looks like she is willing to do it - the recent economic disturbance gave her a lifeboat - she could have said she was abandoning the policy because of the world economic situation and not lost too much credibility, but she didn't take it.
The fly in the ointment, as far as the government is concerned at the moment is serious allegations of impropriety, if not outright corruption leveled at one of her Members of Parliament - Craig Thomson, the Member for Dobell. What he is accused of, could, if it can be substantiated be enough to force him to resign from Parliament. In that case, the Liberal/National coalition would probably win the by-election that would follow, and if that happened, the Gillard government would probably fall. This could all happen very quickly - is it going to? I'd say a 1 in 5 chance at the moment - possible, but the odds are against it.
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