Friday, March 22, 2013

An odd post - why the ALP will, must, recover

I didn't post yesterday, in part because I was updating Thank you Richard Torbay with later events.

What strange world we have seen in Canberra this last few days. This is a UK perspective - Australia's coup culture. On Facebook, a friend wrote:

Everything I thought I knew about politics flew out the window yesterday. As a true believer it is truly distressing.

I responded:

As you know, as a New England popularist I am hardly a true believer, or at least of the same type! But if I can offer a ray of hope. As best I can work out, I was the first one to refer to the New South Walesing of Federal Labor, what is now called the NSW disease. But when you have have an evil humour in the body, it takes time to expel it. And I am not referring just to ICAC, but to deeper systemic problems.

The thing about Labor is that there are people in the Party like you who care greatly. That is why the Party will bounce back. In an earlier comment, I made it clear that if you ran I would support you regardless of political differences. So long as you and others continue to care, then recovery will come and it will be a better Labor Party. Now is the time to think of the future.

I think that all this is pretty correct, Labor will recover because there are sufficient Labor people who do care.

I note, again, that am not a natural Labor supporter. I just think it important that the ALPP recover and deliver. I think that it can, if not immediately.

I must say that this is one of the oddest posts I have ever written.

2 comments:

Evan said...

Labor may rebuild. If it can change its internal processes.

Given its policies while in government I don't see this as a particularly good thing. Julia's speech about misogyny on the same day she threw single parents (mostly women I hear) off the pension and onto the dole should have been more widely remarked on I think.

I think the Greens are now the progressive party. I just hope the Libs don't do too much damage while the Greens build their vote.

Jim Belshaw said...

The Greens are interesting, Evan. I wrote about this some time ago. The nearest equivalent to the political dynamics they face is actually the Country/National Party, although the Democrats have been cited. My feeling is that in a polarised electorate, the Green vote is past its peak.