Has Kevin got woman trouble?

ByStealth says:

02:23pm | 24/02/12

‘No senior female minister would be inclined to admit that the one female PM we have had in this country to date was a dud.  It would (wrongly) damage prospects for future women PMs in the country.’

This is a sound theory. It wouldn’t surprise me if the other female members would worry that if Gillard gets kicked out the voters/party would consider a female PM to be a failed experiment.

Its not substantiated though. Everyone’s pretty much used to having a woman in the top job now and Gillard will eventually fall on the basis of her competence, not her gender.

I think Rudd was a jerk to a lot of people, men and women both. I would hope that he would be more of a team player if he gets back in.

Carol says:

03:04pm | 24/02/12

There is an obvious problem with all of this; Rudd has been a Labor man for many years. He climbed to the top of the tree, don’t tell us he was able to keep on the good side of his fellow members for all this time. Only now are we to be told he is a smart ass!

I don’t know any federal Labor politicians or Liberal ones for that matter, but I feel Rudd is being duded.
The way I see it Rudd is a workaholic and the rest cannot keep up with him.

Chris L says:

03:16pm | 24/02/12

Could it simply be that the women got themselves way more worked up over the way he spoke than the men?

Rick of the Dustbowl says:

03:18pm | 24/02/12

@ Carol…..“the way I see it Rudd is a workaholic that no one can keep up with”.... No one likes a workaholic…....this is Australia for F@#K sake!

phil says:

03:20pm | 24/02/12

Its because the Labor women are sexist and supporting a woman. Woman, man whatever it is - a liar is a liar and that is why Labor are finished. Go Abbott - and that is from a man - guess that makes me sexist - oh no!! Loving watching the end of the Labor Party - gotta go and buy some more popcorn to sit down and watch Jules rubbish Kevin soon.

Jessie says:

03:22pm | 24/02/12

I’m female and i believe sex has nothing to do with it!! Australia voted Kevin Rudd in and the faceless men voted him out, Australia want him back and Mr Gillard has played enough mind games , she desurves everything she’s getting!!! He never desurved to be treated that way, he’s a lovely man and She can go to hell.

Brad Coward says:

03:27pm | 24/02/12

Don’t get me wrong, here.  I can’t stand either Gillard or Rudd.  Watching the fallout leading up to the leadership ballot is Manna from Heaven for me.  What happens afterwards is going to be as equally delicious regardless as to who wins or loses.

Just one question here, Mr Rudd.  If Julia Gillard was getting it so wrong at every turn, why did you vote in support of what was put forward in the House of Reps on each occasion ?  Surely if you disagreed you could have crossed the floor or abstained with a clear conscience.

At the end of the day, Sir, you’ve spat the dummy.  This makes you the loser, and I for one couldn’t be more pleased.  Bless you and your most worthy opponent for this early Christmas gift.

Sad Sad Reality says:

03:46pm | 24/02/12

White men are the only people who frequently support politicians outside their race and sex.

Stephen T says:

03:59pm | 24/02/12

@Jessie: I think that is a bit rich saying that Australia want him back, a percentage of Labor voters may wish to see him returned but I wouldn’t equate the general distaste that mainstream Australia felt over his dismissal with any real desire on their part to see him reinstated.

kgrant says:

05:52pm | 24/02/12

Only the women who are supporting her can know the answer to that Chris.  I’ll tell you what we can know the answer to though:  Is Kevin Rudd a fool?  Well if he was quoted correctly as stating that the ‘people’ voted for him as Prime Minister then the answer is yes.

Brian Taylor says:

12:58am | 25/02/12

doesn’t matter if the females don’t like Rudd or even Abbott for that matter.
seems every guy has problems with females from time to time, thats life.
Hey, was watching “Family Guy” tonight when I realised just how much the mother in the show looks and sounds like Julia Gillard, check out the nose and the red hair and my god, that voice of hers lol

acotrel says:

06:34am | 25/02/12

‘No senior female minister would be inclined to admit that the one female PM we have had in this country to date was a dud.’

The only thing wrong with Gillard as PM is that she is a woman.  She has achieved under the worst possible circumstances, and both men and women amongst the public and the parliament cannot cope with that. It threatens the status quo.

acotrel says:

06:38am | 25/02/12

I’ve just read this last lot of comments.. We a re denying Australians are sexist, just as we deny they are racist ?

Craig says:

07:11am | 25/02/12

Two Wrods: Emily’s List.

Their motto: “when women support women, women win”

marley says:

07:58am | 25/02/12

@Sad sad reality - actually, it’s far more common for white women than white men to support people outside their race and sex.  Or do you think that there are 75 female MPs and 38 female senators?

Bruce says:

08:35am | 25/02/12

Kevin does not have a problem working with women, he just does not like one being his BOSS !!

Concerned Female says:

08:44am | 25/02/12

As a female voter and feminist I have no hesitation to state clear and loudly that the first female PM has been a dud.

Gregg says:

10:07am | 25/02/12

@Stealthily
” This is a sound theory. It wouldn’t surprise me if the other female members would worry that if Gillard gets kicked out the voters/party would consider a female PM to be a failed experiment.

Its not substantiated though. Everyone’s pretty much used to having a woman in the top job now and Gillard will eventually fall on the basis of her competence, not her gender. “

Gillard has failed, not because she is a woman or that she has not got policies legislated for and not because they are bad policies legislated for on behalf of and with help of the greens but more so because she has shown herself to be quite loose at times with her thinking and also in how she uses the truth with the public and others and you only need to look at issues involving Timor, Malaysia, Pokies and Wilkie as well as her recent interview re what she knew was going on in her own office to get a good sense of that.

As much as Rudd was incompetent and obviously a person with people management problems, Gillard is untrustworthy and leaves a lot to be desired re character which she has claimed is one issue re the leadership spill.

Women are known to be the more emotive of the human species and that not only says something about Shiela Swannie and Shaggers Simon but it is quite possible when you have an aggressive kind of male leader that women will react more when given the opportunity.

Lee says:

02:49pm | 25/02/12

It is obvious from the posts here that a percentage of the population is very sexist indeed. Mr Rudd is a popularist so I would expect that while he is walking the halls of that most sexist instituion of them all (parliment) it would be hard for a popularist to curb his own sexist misgivings even if it is not his intent. Seeking popularity brings the worst out in people. Just look at any playground. Bullying 101.

David says:

03:15pm | 25/02/12

Hey Chris, Living and working in the Capital, I am exposed to many people in the service of this country. I know two people who were in direct contact with Mr Rudd on a regular basis, and I have talked to many that had to deal with him in some capacity. These are all very professional people, some of who subscribe to the philosophy that if they are unable to say something kind, they will say nothing. Of those that were happy to pass comment, the kindest thing that could be said was “Workaholic, but inefficient as unable to focus energy inspiring chaos”. I have heard many bad reports of his behaviour, and it would appear there is no common respect or decency granted to anyone who is considered expendable or unimportant. The term “Demented child king” came up more than once, as did “people that like him have not met him yet”.
From what I understand, he is not sexist as he seems to dislike and distrust regardless of gender. As long as you are prepared to blow smoke and sunshine up his arse, you are okay. Most female Labour MPs do not appear to be the kind to do that!

Fiona says:

07:20pm | 25/02/12

Craig, I know it’s an unpopular organization here, but your phrase from what is obviously Emily’s lists’ motto, isn’t sexist. If it was it might end with “and men lose”.
Maybe he just p*ssed the women off more.

Erick says:

07:17am | 26/02/12

@fiona - If there was a political association created by men for the specific purpose of helping men gain more power, and its motto was “When men support men, men win”, then it would be widely condemned as sexist.

Emily’s list does exactly the same thing but with the genders reversed. How could it not be sexist?

jones says:

08:19am | 26/02/12

acotrel, you are way out of line. Your insinuations that Australian’s are sexist and racist is overly generalized and nonobjective. The majority of Australian’s have a propensity to recognize bullshit and therefore are not as stupid as you may think. The fact that Gillard has shown herself to be a liar, or at the least deceptive on the matter of certain policy has nothing to do with her being female and everything to do with her being a snake. Things that has happened to her are outcomes directly attributable to her actions and if she hadn’t played such games with her union buddies and the factions she may not be getting so badly burned in the polls as she is. I for one would love to see an admirable female Prime Minister who is popularly elected by the people, not one who scraped together numbers because of deals with other politicians. There are many paths she has taken that have clearly earned the disdain of the voting public and she is paying for it.

Tubesteak says:

02:20pm | 24/02/12

True.

This recent saga has shown that he isn’t very smart when it comes to people.

The media beat-up about his leadership aspirations could have been nipped in the bud if he came out in the beginning of it (last week) and unequivocally said “I don’t want to be leader and am not challenging to be leader. I support Gillard. End of story. See ya later”

Any time someone questioned him he could have repeated that. Instead he umm’d and ahh’d, stayed silent until Gillard’s hand was forced. He ran from this and quit. If he tries to make a challenge now he’ll be shot down as he won’t have the numbers.

This is a serious failing to gauge how things work. This is probably because he’s never really worked in a commercial environment where these things are necessary to master. He’s always been a public servant which is more about selection criteria on written applications.

Meph says:

03:13pm | 24/02/12

@Tubesteak, you accurately describe his actions without also listening to his words. His game has been far more insidious than you think.

By claiming that he could no longer work as foreign minister without the support of the PM, he is trying to make us believe that all the rumour-milling about him ultimately comes from her, and thus his only recourse is totry and publicly dethrone her. This may be true or false, and deciding which can be an exercise for the reader, but read between the lines, and you’ll see an extremely gifted politician doing what they do best.

Brad Coward says:

03:31pm | 24/02/12

When he loses the ballot, expect a really big dummy spit !

By-election in the seat of Griffiths within two months is my predicition.  There is no way that Mr Rudd will sit quietly on the backbench.

Mik says:

07:24pm | 24/02/12

Or Brad, become Australia’s first democratically elected dictator by going to the cross bench.

Don says:

10:35pm | 24/02/12

Rudd is a bully. A bully by their nature will always pick on those they perceive to be weaker than them.

DaS Energy says:

08:16am | 25/02/12

Mike Coward, cant see look at me Im Kevin quitting his electorate, at least there the local paper will still carry pictures of him.  But having said that not having all the cammeras pointed at him will carry him to such despair he will resign for health reasons.

jaki says:

01:27pm | 24/02/12

I would never support an incompetent person just because they were the same sex as me.  Any woman that does is just sexist. A useless person is a useless person, no matter what their gender is. A good example incompetence in both genders is Gillard and Rudd.

Chris says:

02:02pm | 24/02/12

Hi Jaki,

It’s a more complicated issue than that, and it’s not just about now and PM Gillard but about the future.  Many senior female ministers might presently be aspiring to be PM in the foreseeable future.  If the only female PM we have had so far ends in this fairly unusual way at a time she is pretty unpopular with the voting public, it will fetter the ability of future female ministers to run for PM without having to deal (even peripherally) with the only female PM comparison that people will make - which (in this hypothetical) ended in utter failure.

Is it sexist?  Yes, probably.  It also has absolutely nothing to do with any issue of substance, policy or ability to run the country.  But that doesn’t mean it’s not a serious issue that they have to think about.

awomansperspective says:

03:35pm | 24/02/12

If can’t imagine the flogging Gillard is likely to get at the next election will have any positive effects on the future careers of any female polition. I would think they would be better off letting Rudd cop the baseball bats.
I really think they don’t support him because he’s batshit crazy.
Gillard is incompentant, dishonest, condescending and downright irritating, but I’d take her over Rudd any day.
The man is delusional and the thought of him as PM scares me. He’s got revenge fire in his crazy eyes and he’ll take the whole country down with him to punish those he feels done him wrong

Hannah says:

04:09pm | 24/02/12

Ah, that’s rubbish, I’m a woman and I voted for the LNP, I certainly would’nt have voted labour just because of a woman. Ha, in fact, by your logic every woman in Australia should’ve voted Labour in the last election, hahahaha ridiculous!!

David says:

07:29pm | 24/02/12

@awomansperspective

When Rudd was PM he was a batshit crazy power hungry egotistical sociopath. Now he’s all that with a chip on his shoulder. No one in caucus is going to vote for that.

Tracey says:

08:30pm | 24/02/12

You couldn’t be more wrong SteveKAG.  I detest Gillard and my opinion is shared by almost every woman I know.  I think it’s a real shame that Labor promote unworthy women (Gillard, Ellis, Plibersek, McKew and on and on) simply because they are women and they may attract additional votes from idiot ‘sisters’ who are not politically engaged enough to see them for what they really are.

Rosemary says:

08:24am | 25/02/12

I’m a woman and I felt uneasy about Gillard from the start. There was something about her that gave me the heebie-jeebies. I didn’t vote for Gillard, I didn’t vote for Blight. All the politicians I have voted for, have been men and Conservatives. I vote conservatively, and not for a politician’s gender. If I had to pick two favourite politicians, they would be Senators Joyce and Bernardi because both are conservative, both call it as it is, and both seem straight up, honourable types - oh, and both are men.

Teresa says:

09:08am | 25/02/12

Howard lied re.the GST and there was not that much lamentation about. Isn’t about time this ” lying” chorus is put to rest? She may well have never intended to introduce the carbon tax but was forced to do so by the Greens. They would have caused the gorvernment to fall if they did not get their way. Why is no one considering this? If Abbot had received the Greens support and become PM, HE would have had to do the same !Time to get over it. We survived the GST, costing us a lot more then the carbon tax. We will survive the CT as well. And it may not last forever as the GST has.  AND NO, I am not a labor voter, in fact I do not vote.

Gregg says:

01:38pm | 25/02/12

@Chris
” it will fetter the ability of future female ministers to run for PM without having to deal (even peripherally) with the only female PM comparison that people will make - which (in this hypothetical) ended in utter failure. “

The it you describe may well be hypothetically sexist but only by those who would support the fettering.
I think there are many many Australians, both male and female who will accept someone on merit regardless of sex.

Gillard in other than one sole blatant characteristic has proven herself to be an able prime minister, that sole massive blight being her looseness with some thoughts and more so the truth, the latest 4 corners interview as an example.
She has given herself the title of arguably being untrustworthy and that is not what the people want of any PM.

With her thoughts, just like all ministers she is no doubt surrounded by advisors on this and that, a larger majority of them possibly male and poor advice can make for poor comment.

James says:

10:38pm | 25/02/12

@Teresa, you are just plain wrong. Howard took the GST to the election and won. Gillard did lie about the leadership and the Carbon Tax. If you can’t see the difference between leaders who lie and those who present the truth knowing it will be unpopular.

For mine, I think it’s totally appropriate to draw a line between the two.

Skip. says:

05:49am | 25/02/12

I am a woman and I have not met anyone when talking politics that likes either of them!

Brad Coward says:

03:37pm | 24/02/12

As they also say in the classics…..with friends like Rudd and Gillard, who needs enemas.

Bertrand says:

05:49pm | 24/02/12

Yep. There will only be more of it next week as the spill is analysed in minute detail.

May I propose a week long moratorium on party political stories starting the Monday after the spill? There could of course be as many stories as you like about specific policy issues and so on, but, really, how much new is actually being said here?

It’s all been said. We all agree (well most of us).... Labor has descended into civil war and in doing so completely destroyed any chance it had of fighting the next election and has, in all likelihood, trashed the Labor brand to such an extent that it will take a monumental effort for it to ever recover. The Labor leaders are behaving like small-minded children and deserve no respect from the public. I know this, you know this. But it’s getting old. Let’s move on.

How about some policy debates?

DaS Energy says:

08:25am | 25/02/12

Tim says:  Im an old bushy thought I knew all the old remedies, teaspoon of cement makes sense, dont hear of Junket tablets anymore. Thanks.

Rick of the Dustbowl says:

03:13pm | 24/02/12

Half wit inbreds?......sure you weren’t looking at the national party members?

Brad Coward says:

03:35pm | 24/02/12

No.  One was definitely Martin Ferguson, Rick of the Dustbowl.

Austin 3:16 says:

03:45pm | 24/02/12

Oddly enough I thought that it’s been the more competent ministers in the government that are supporting Rudd and the no-hopers like Swan and Roxon supporting Gillard.

I suppose that when you have a tendency to stuff things up you don’t want a hard task-master as your boss.

antman says:

03:00pm | 24/02/12

Gillard appears to be going about her normal routine, just with the odd additional press conference.

Captain says:

07:26pm | 24/02/12

Your mention of ‘effing’ reminded me that young Jess sounds as bad as her ‘effing’ father.

Zaf says:

02:22pm | 24/02/12

[My belief is that we Australians should be striving for minimalist Federal Govt]

Let’s get rid of vile things like medicare, the pbs, job search allowance, pensions, oh the things that the Federal Govt uses to oppress our lives just goes on and on and on! 

We should be like Texas, low taxes, low incomes, low literacy, low levels of health insurance but high levels of teen pregnancy.

What a great idea, what could go wrong with this?

Shane From Melbourne says:

03:36pm | 24/02/12

But where would the middle class families get their welfare fix from? They would go into withdrawal symptoms like junkies…..

kgrant says:

06:15pm | 24/02/12

Yup!  Let’s git ourselves a little old dictator so we only have to pay one politician.

Kat says:

08:56pm | 24/02/12

The OP identified minimalist, not none. Intellectually jumping to the extreme position is not clever, witty or helpful.

The idea generated by the post is to ask you to think about whether the Federal Gor State Government need to be involved in matters they intervene in. There is a legitimate question to be asked on the division of responsibility between the duplication (and division) on health and education, between state and federal governments. This is exacerbated when political point scoring gets in the way of policy, and holding out to grab a bigger stake.

Then there is the latest trend on the macro approach with plain packaging and pokies. These attempts to infringe individual decision making, is indicative that a government does not accept the notion of individual responsibility. These are not safety net issues, but a further penetration on freedoms of each of us to behave, learn, regret, and improve.

A government cannot save an individual from themselves, and nor should they use a finite pool of resources, which can achieve a greater good if deployed on things the individual has no capacity to decide or deliver for themselves.

kiwichick says:

11:17pm | 24/02/12

how much do state and territory govts cost annually?

we ditched provincial govts and the upper house (in the shakey isles) and the world didn’t end

mind we do have MMP

Brad Coward says:

03:43pm | 24/02/12

I would expect that this comment will be the source of much mirth and hillarity for those in the ALP opposed to the return of Mr Rudd for the next 48 hours or so.

Paul, everything that you’ve written is comedy gold…...and the truth !

DM says:

03:52pm | 24/02/12

I was with you until the third paragraph. But definitely agree with the first two,

DaS Energy says:

08:35am | 25/02/12

Paul says: Do agree but for different reason. Aussies have a saying when the green flag drops all the bullshit stops. And it sure stopped once elected PM, it his own inadequaticies he cant come terms with.

Rosie says:

02:48pm | 25/02/12

Roxon has lost all credibility. She should be sacked from the position as the federal Attorney General for blabbering away during her time as Health Minister undermining Rudd, the former PM to defend Gillard, her choice of PM.

How can the nation trust someone who when the going gets tough, for invested interest will blabber. Roxon revealed what happened in caucus. She is a lawyer and the nation’s Attorney General, confidentiality is No 1requisite.

As usual, Gillard made the wrong judgement and her timing was way out of goof. If they waited like Albanese, thought about things before speaking out, the damage created to themselves, the govt and the Labor brand would not have been so damaging. Also, the rot would not have humiliated the Australian people.

PsychoHyena says:

03:53pm | 24/02/12

I found it a bit rich that Tory included this line at the end: “Backbencher Janelle Saffin aside, where are the women?”

I could just imagine if there were more women in support of him… “So except for these 100 women, who’s actually for him?”. Ever thought of going into politics Tory? Because you just used politics 101 right there.

Your name: kat says:

09:24pm | 24/02/12

And he only returned today ( once again with no sleep!)

Imagine what he can achieve with a weekend for the JG supporters to guess, second guess, and ultimately crap their pants about just how far he might go.

Minority government is a game changer in this equation and he can bring the parliament down. The question caucus has to answer is: do they want the House dissolved in chaos by Friday, or would they like to govern for another 18 months.

Shame on the political commentariat for failing to shine the spotlight on the independents, and to canvas just where this could go. Get this dialogue happening, and watch the flock come back to the messiah.

Pls note, I am not a labour supporter, but Rudd has a chance to rewrite his legacy, and he won’t hesitate to pull the pin out of the grenade in his pocket to do so… If everything that’s been revealed by JG camp is true, why don’t they think he would cross the floor and watch them get flamed.
This may explain some of Kevin’s careful commentary today, such as:
The whole people power rhetoric when their views are irrelevant in the caucus process;
Opposition = backbench,
Will only challenge Julia once; then go to backbench
He did not refer to being the federal labor member for Griffith, but simply the federal member for Griffith.
For any who have only seen the edited press conference, examine the transcript in full. It may be enlightening it the precise words he used.

Wilkie may also get to be the people’s champion, if he rides with Rudd on the parliament floor, which just might give him a further term and he avenges the broken WRITTEN agreement he had revived from JG personally. This scenario will achieve a no confidence vote, triggering the GG to act.

Tony Abbott would be insane not to call a no confidence motion on the parliamentary floor as soon as Parliament commenced on Monday: regardless of the caucus outcome.

antman says:

03:02pm | 24/02/12

No, Colin Barnett is Barney Rubble.

kiwichick says:

11:48pm | 24/02/12

the nation didn’t vote him in

he was elected to the labour party leadership by the labour caucus in 2006 replacing kim beazly

that made him leader of the opposition

the voters elected the Labour party in 2007 and julia won the 2010 election by winning the support of the greens and most of the independants

LDW says:

07:06pm | 24/02/12

Despairingly we await the outcome of which muppet should rung the country? The smug know it all or the nervous ranga. Tune in next week to find out. It was emailed to me!

Mere Man says:

05:00pm | 24/02/12

LOL
Come now DM,  Kevin was pulling your leg (whoops!)  having you on
(whoops!) ...he—was—joking!.. which despite all your obvious omniscience went right over your head.

Tracker says:

05:43pm | 24/02/12

I read the article.

“For starters, even if we ignore the fact few people go on to complete PhDs (and of those who do, the majority are men), Rudd’s argument ...”

....was probably correct

GB says:

05:07pm | 24/02/12

Not sure about him drinking blood but I do know he has a fondness for munching on ear wax.

Kat says:

09:46pm | 24/02/12

Spot on!

I was waiting for her to say, earnestly and with conviction, ” the polls showed the Australian people were turning on Rudd, who fixed that?... me… I got the job done… And I did it in less than 24 hours. Why aren’t you giving me the credit I deserve for this.”

How did she keep a straight face when talking about how trustworthy she was/is? I don’t know about anyone else, but that made me vomit in my own mouth, which at least held back the futility of screaming at the TV.

BTW, Shame on The Australian for making the journalist apologise for being rude to her yesterday.  It is she, who owes us the apology for the disgrace to government, history and democracy that she is perpetrating. Like there was much scope for respecting the office of PM since her actions of 2010.

JG, time to reap what you have sown. At least the next opportunistic parasite who gets the push from party hacks just might learn from your journey!

Oh, and I am female, so I guess I just abandoned the sisterhood. The gender hypothesis being offered to save Gillard is not in the lessons of feminism or suffrage that I was shown, or have respect for.

Brad Coward says:

04:30pm | 24/02/12

Is there any chance that The Punch could get Tim to pen an “How Great Thou Art” piece about Ms Gillard ?

Col Klink says:

04:43pm | 24/02/12

Just my $0.02.

Rudd’s daughter and family should be left out of the debate no matter how interesting it my seem.

If we have to discuss his daughter we have to talk about Gillard’s…..

Wait a minute. Does not having a child become an interesting issue about ego, inability to share one’s love or time and so forth.

My point is neither are perfect but they all have issues we need to address.

Brad Coward says:

05:14pm | 24/02/12

The wife and the daughter put in their two cents worth, so their comments and requests become fair game for discussion.

David says:

07:09pm | 24/02/12

@Col

Why should the decision not to have children tarnish a person’s character?

Tracey says:

08:44pm | 24/02/12

Agreed Brad.  I don’t participate on either Facebook or Twitter.  I don’t even know who this Mia Freedman is and STILL I cannot escape the vaccous, self-serving, dimwit ramblings of Jessica Rudd.  My God, she is everywhere.  Please, someone… anyone…make it stop.

esteban says:

06:46pm | 24/02/12

Are they front benchers?

DaS Energy says:

08:48am | 25/02/12

Paul: Tracy it will stop nobody is interested in the daughter of a nobody. The hard part for her will be to erase all the blogs after Kev is punted.

Bertrand says:

05:51pm | 24/02/12

Nope. The idea that Gillard is disliked because of her sex is offensive. She’s disliked for many reasons. Gender is not one of them. If anything the ‘first female PM’ thing probably gave her a bit of a boost to begin with.

Cynicised says:

03:07pm | 26/02/12

Offensive to you, perhaps Bertrand, but I believe there is an element of truth to AJ’s comment. The vitriol I’ve heard and read about Julia both here and in  the street has much to do with perceived broken promises, which is politics, but there is also talk about her in incredibly derogatory terms which can only be described as sexist and misogynistic  (cue Erick). The criticism of her living arrangements has been  used to paint her as immoral and the fact that she is childless by choice  has been used to paint her as uncaring and “unwomanly” because she chose a career. If that’s not sexism, I  don’t know what is!  Would a male PM without children be vilified in such a manner? I definitely believe that some people have begun their assessment of Ms Gillard from a place of bias  against her due to her gender and have subsequently judged all of her actions through that prism. I find them very offensive.

Of course, there are those who are, and have been capable of disregarding her gender and have based their assessment purely on her performance, as all our leaders should be judged. I’m one of them.

That said, I totally understand the desire of some women to back her because she’s female. It has been a long road to the top for women in this country, and 
yes, at last we’ve reached it, but the criteria for judgement  by some is still not equal, as I’ve pointed out above. Many women in top jobs believe they have to do twice as well as a man to be considered worthy. It’s not an uncommon complaint by senior female execs. Julia is no different, in some people’s eyes. To say that sexism isn’t in play in some people’s assessment of her, both positively and negatively, is naive or disingenuous.

RyaN says:

06:59pm | 26/02/12

@Cynicised: Is that you Bob Brown? Sniff, sniff, its all Tony Abbotts fault waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

Cynicised says:

09:03am | 28/02/12

Thanks for reminding me, RyaN , that Abbott is one of those who see chlidlessness as a sin and use it as a weapon against Gillard. Yet another reason to dislike the man intensely.

kiwichick says:

12:13am | 25/02/12

“Christian”????

would that be the crew that advocates “turning the other cheek”

as all religion is bulls%$t it automatically disqualifies any of it’s followers from running anything more important than the lemonade stand

Gregg says:

04:21pm | 25/02/12

Yep, he needs more elastic in the undies and probably wouldn’t cut half the image as Tony in budgies.
Maybe that’s why he just hates Tony so!

KimL says:

05:14am | 25/02/12

More than they think, these polls are probably too kind to Gillard, I do not know one single person who likes her, be it male or female. After all this abuse of Rudd, Labor is finished. Liberal voters don’t need to say a word about this, Labor voters will tell them how pathetic they are, we invested out trust and our votes, only to be betrayed

ALP Voter says:

09:37am | 25/02/12

If Julia wins, the ALP Loses.
If Julia wins, we all will be loses—even the “you go girl brigade”.

Ingi says:

10:56am | 25/02/12

My crystal ball suggests that Rudd knows he hasn’t got the numbers. His strategy is to go to the back bench, and watch Gillard’s government be dismantled after losing to Abbott at the next Federal election. Rudd then says ’ I told u so’ and may have a slim chance of becoming ALP’s leader again, but he would have most certainly achieved that deep hatred to those ‘faceless men’ who he believes knifed him. Abbott’s time will probably be short lived. If Rudd truly has the desire to be PM again, he may need some advice from Keating and a lesson in patience. But my crystal ball is a bit fuzzy. All I see is Rudd last flash in the pan, along with Gillard. Whoosh!

mr g says:

12:39pm | 25/02/12

Welcome to the land of equal opportunity, Susie. This is the place where every man, regardless of race, color, religion, or sexual proclivity has the self-given right to belittle women of all backgrounds, but especially those with aspirations.
A number of quasi-women join in, not because of any principle, (haha), but because they figure to advance their own cause. The mantra from both groups, m&f, is simply, “She could never have made it without the scales being tilted”.
Those who talk of Rudd being unable to deal with women, particularly, are the same people who say on another page that he has trouble dealing civilly with anyone. Then why women, today? Because it makes the misogynists seem as if they are part of an “aware” group. They know what they are talking about!.
The Ericks and the Brad Cowards of this nation are in their element. Of course their selectivism gives them away as being shallower than those that they would, for political as well as sexist reasons, destroy.
Gillard will win on Monday, and will continue to govern as she has done, despite the efforts of those who would put their political allegiance before the welfare of this Country. Only in Australia, of all the commenting nations, is Gillard vilified. Elsewhere she, and this Labor Government are lauded as they should be for the brilliant initiatives and reforms that they have introduced.
I shouldn’t be too harsh. I’m told that some among the sad mysogynists would consider voting for Abbott, were he Leader of the Opposition at election time. Even though he “said” that he has no problem with women being in authority. Mind you, it was unscripted, so….....

PhilD says:

01:34pm | 25/02/12

Stephen Smith has conducted himself well. Shuffled from Foreign Minister to Defence Minister to make way for Kevin Rudd, he has done a good job in trying circumstances. This last week he has handled himself very well in front of the press.
Stephen Smith would make a great PM. He has a BA and Master of Laws and would bring some stability to the Labor Government which is rocketing out of control.
I hope he challenges.

Gregg says:

01:24pm | 25/02/12

Julia has a certain ammount of poise if not high gloss polish at times Carole and indeed if she talked more without stretching the truth in different directions and screeched less, she might even find herself more likeable.

As for policy though, it’s the state of the nation for the kids’ kids and theirs that will tell just how good overspending and then increased taxes are good for the country.

Interestingly, amidst all the Ruddy hullalaboo, she is now chanelling some of Tony for what did she have to say about the $5B education report projected bill?
” Oh, we cannot commit to that until we have a good look at running the numbers past needing to have a surplus ” and as announced by Peter Garratt, we’ll have a committee developing the next steps!

Sort of Aspirational stuff with a capital A!.

marley says:

01:39pm | 25/02/12

Gillard isn’t truly Australian and therefore shouldn’t be PM..  Hmm. So, in order to make our government “more Australian” your plan is to copy an American rule.