Kim Beazley

Surprise, surprise. Just as the Prime Minister is winding up a highly successful India visit, up pops the headline magnet, Kevin Rudd.

A pattern is emerging where any advance made by the embattled PM is immediately body-checked by her vanquished predecessor - and particularly so if her success involves his treasured turf of foreign affairs.

It didn’t help that Ms Gillard had a nasty tumble approaching a final doorstop interview in the Indian capital - her awkward face-plant caught on television cameras and beamed straight back to Australia.

Continue reading "Kevin’s there to lend a hand when Julia stumbles" »

When Kim Beazley resumed the Labor leadership in early 2005 he faced the freshly re-elected John Howard - by then the nation’s second longest serving prime minister.

“Naturally speaking, if I had my druthers, I would rather have your record than mine,” he noted warmly congratulating Howard on the milestone. It was a welcome reprieve from the verbal violence of his predecessor Mark Latham and a perfect example of why Labor had gone back to him.

“On this occasion, as in no other period of time in his prime ministership, the Prime Minister has spoken for the whole nation, and that includes all of us,’’ Beazley continued, referring to Howard’s response to the Indonesian tsunami.

Continue reading "Wanted: A leader with ticker… but not too much" »

Well it’s official: we’re at war with Alabama. Rather than being conducted in a conventional sense this war will be one of utes vs trucks, and fought between men wearing AC/DC shirts on one side and Metallica t-shirts on the other. Fortunately all will be sporting mullets.

If you’re not sure why this war has been declared it’s the fault of comedian Robin Williams. He had the audacity to joke that Australia was basically a country made up of “English rednecks”. This drew an embarrassing sub-par comeback from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who suggested that Robin Williams “should go and spend a bit of time in Alabama before he frames comments about anyone being particularly redneck”, he told Triple M radio. (Of course he has to say “frames comments” rather than just “calling us” or something.)

Now the Governor of Alabama Bob Riley has bought into the conflict, putting out a statement today saying he his rather confused by all this.

Continue reading "Rudd starts redneck war with Alabama" »