With the resignation of Mark Latham as Leader of the Opposition and from politics altogether, the burning question is who will the Labor Caucus elect as their new leader? So far Kim Beazley is the only contender for the position. I’m going to stick my neck out and say that he’ll probably remain the only contender. I believe that Kevin Rudd, possibly the only potential nominee who could pip Beazley in the internal ballot, will decide not to contest in order to portray a sense of Labor unity. I think the contested ballot in the wake of Simon Crean’s resignation as Leader of the Opposition did little for Labor’s cause, especially given how close that ballot was. Rudd knows this. He knows the importance of unity (or at least the outward appearance of it). In my opinion, it’s highly unlikely that the ALP will win the next federal election regardless of who becomes their leader. Therefore, I think it’s in Kevin Rudd’s best interests and in the best interests of Labor party that Rudd bide his time. He ought to put his hand up after the next election, but not before.
Having said all this, I am reminded that, years ago, an Indian fortune-teller visited Australia and told Kim Beazley that he will one day be the Prime Minister of Australia. Unfortunately, I can’t find any links to this on the web. But I swear I’m not making this up! I think it was a segment on A Current Affair about seven or eight years ago (soon after Beazley was elected Leader of the Opposition for the first time). It’s funny what our minds choose to remember.
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[…] Well, it’s been almost a week since the Labor caucus ousted Kim Beazley and elected Kevin Rudd as their new leader and Julia Gillard as his deputy. In my last post, I made the comment that it might have been in Labor’s best interests for Kevin to wait until after the next election before contesting the leadership. I also made that comment in the wake of Mark Latham’s resignation. However, Mr Rudd has made a really good start. It began with a confident interview on the 7.30 Report, continued with his staring down of the internal Labor factions so he could install the front bench that he wanted, and now he’s talking about overhauling the education system. More to the point, I already get the feeling that Labor will, for once, be constructing a strong party platform from which to launch their election campaign. This is something that Kim Beazley, nor his recent predecessors, were willing or able to achieve as Labor leaders. My frustration with Mr Beazley’s incoherrent policies are already well documented in this blog. […]