Rudd slide

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is doing it tough at the moment.

Much has been said about Rudd’s retreat from his proposed Emissions Trading Scheme and his dismantling of the national insulation roll out.

I remember the first 12 months of Rudd’s term of office. It seemed whatever he said or declared, the national press cried ‘Hosanna’.

Rudd possessed the youth that had eluded former PM John Howard for some time.

He claimed conservative economic credentials but also drive for the future, eg, ratify Kyoto and faster broadband (wouldn’t that be nice).

Rudd even promised to throw in an education revolution to boot.

Australians loved their new prime minister and wanted the affair to continue.

We just couldn’t get enough of our new man.

Rudd managed to outmanouvre two opposition leaders in Brendan Nelson and Malcolm Turnbull with unprecedented popularity polls that seemed to never end.

But then the ‘climate changed’ and for some reason or another more of the public didn’t want an ETS and so Rudd abandoned the policy.

It wasn’t the fact that Rudd made some compromises on policy that explains why he has dropped so low in the polls.

Every successful politician (no matter what party they represent) needs to compromise if they want more than 50% of the vote.

So this is not a particular weakness of any particular party or political philosophy. It is human nature.

No, it was the brazenness of Rudd’s u-turn that raised our collective ire.

Rudd had cast his ETS position in such absolute moral terms that his backflip seemed, well…… just plain immoral.

The voting public are happy to be wined, dined and even bribed (my 32 inch flat screen is getting too small so another stimulus payment would be welcome), but just don’t take us for complete fools!

Everyone saw the price Malcolm Turnbull paid for his commitment to an ETS, while Rudd wanted to divest himself of a potential vote loser without penalty.

For what it is worth, I think Rudd will probably survive the next election but it may be the last one he ever contests as Prime Minister.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the ALP, particularly by the way Rudd’s first term has been handled.

Like every elected official, Rudd and his team deserve and need our prayers.

While governing at the best of times must be notoriously difficult, returning prolonged public goodwill and support for flagrant policy back flips may well cost Rudd his legacy.

Treating others the way you would have them treat you works at home, school, work- even in national politics.

Jesus was right after all.

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