Keeping off the tele

Thursday, 7 August 2008 - Sometimes you can just have too much of a good politician and the way Kevin Rudd kept bobbing up on the television newscasts last night that time is surely coming for our Prime Minister. Story after story seemed to have a 20 second clip with a comment from Mr Rudd and I don't think I'm different to most viewers in saying that this morning I can't recall one thing he actually said. Over exposure starts affecting people like that as the Barack Obama team are recognizing in the United States. more

Avoiding an answer

Friday, 1 August 2008 - Politicians who have nothing to say should avoid giving interviews. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was very much in that category this morning when he went on the ABC's AM program supposedly to talk about the economy. All he actually did was avoid giving an answer to any of the reasonable questions asked of him. He trotted out the same phrases over and over as if he was not listening to Chris Uhlmann. Judge for yourself here but I found it glib and smug. more

A bit like Lewis Carroll

Friday, 30 May 2008 - He's a bit like Lewis Carroll's queen is our Prime Minister. Not quite “ sentence first, verdict afterwards”, but certainly decide the guilty then have the federal police investigate. The leaking of details of departmental opposition to the Fuel Watch scheme was not done by a Minister. No sirree. It was a public servant wot did it and plod will hunt the villain down. And when it comes to punishment make it collective. Give all of those Canberra pen pushers a lashing. more

A somber Prime Minister

Friday, 16 May 2008 - Treasurer Wayne Swan tried to have his poker face on when Brendan Nelson was giving his budget speech last night but could not contain traces of an occasional smirk. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, by contrast, remained dead pan and serious throughout as well he might have. more

Sacrificing the heart and soul, hands and feet

Monday, 5 May 2008 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd tried to show himself a good party man at the NSW State Labor Conference at the weekend as he extensively quoted Ben Chifley including his reminder that “the Labour movement can only be great by the united efforts of all those who believe in it”. A very fine sentiment but a very hypocritical one from a Federal Labor Leader who until he spoke had been supporting a NSW Labor Premier determined to take decisions designed to split his party asunder. more

Rudd's retreat on privatization

Friday, 2 May 2008 - The way Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has used weasel words to try and escape any embarrassment from the humiliation NSW Premier Morris Iemma is facing at the hands of his Labor Party hardly inspires confidence about his ability to stick with difficult decisions. more

A Rudd defeat looming

Monday, 28 April 2008 - The Liberal and National Parties might not be able to harm Federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd but his own Party seems likely to do so this weekend. morre

A journey of harmony

Wednesday, 9 April 2008 - Chinese government officials are entitled to be a little quizzical about the reason Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has given for not being able to take part in the Canberra “journey of harmony” which is how the visit of the Olympic torch is officially described. more

The PMs Taiwanese friends

Thursday, 10 April 2008 - An acquaintance who has had a thing or two to do with China over the years tells me that Kevin Rudd the China consultant back in the 1990s had closer ties with gentlemen from Taiwan than he did with anyone from Beijing. Just thought I should throw that in to feed a little something to the conspiracy theorists! more

Memories of Gough

Thursday, 27 March 2008 -The peripatetic Kevin Rudd is bringing back memories of Gough Whitlam with his enthusiasm for strutting on the world stage. more

Do as I say not as we do

Wednesday, 26 March 2008 - Kevin Rudd is making a reputation for himself as a hard driving man who demands public servants begin work early and are ready to be called at home late as he establishes himself as a can-do Prime Minister. Yet, somewhat surprisingly, he is tolerating a very sloppy standard of service from his own personal office staff. more

The Chinese connection

Tuesday, 18 March 2008 - Dodgy conduct takes a long time to get through into the public consciousness so the Liberals beginning to ask questions of Kevin Rudd about his contact with Chinese businessmen should not expect any immediate tarnishing of the Prime Ministerial image.more

Beating the retreat (1)

Monday, 10 March 2008 - Knowing when to beat the strategic retreat is an important attribute for a politician and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd showed he has that attribute when he decided to abandon the Friday sham parliamentary sittings. more

No solos in this government

Tuesday, 4 March 2008 - With his approval rating sky high there is no reason to suppose that Kevin Rudd is of a mind to change his style but surely it must be a little galling to his Cabinet colleagues the way the Prime Minister keeps pushing himself in to the limelight. more

A risky choice

Wednesday, 27 February 2008 - Labor leaders have had a mixed record over the years with the business leaders they most closely associate with. Paul Keating had his Warren Anderson connection, Bob Hawke his close relationship with Sir Peter Abeles. Brian Burke nurtured Alan Bond and Laurie Connell. John Bannon went down with Tim Marcus Clark and the SA State Bank. John Cain paid a price for believing in the wisdom of his State Bank and the fellows at its merchant banking arm Tricontinental. Now Kevin Rudd has hitched his fortunes to Rod Eddington. more

Thanks be to Robert

Tuesday, 26 February 2008 - Kevin Rudd proved back in November that just a little bit closer to the mid-point of public opinion than your opponent is where a successful political party positions itself. Thus he will not be at all concerned that Melbourne academic Robert Manne and some fellow “public intellectuals” are putting up ideas in a series of Dear Kevin letters. more

Not going to dinner

Tuesday, 19 February 2008 - I think I now understand what Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been trying to tell us about his relationship with Brian Burke. more

Back on the trail again

Friday, February 15, 2008 - Kevin Rudd is right to be acting as if he is still in an election campaign. He is. For old timers like me the attitude of the Coalition parties in this first week of Parliament is reminiscent of the way things were back in 1973. more

The Headline seeker

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - Kevin Rudd is a skilled man in the search for a headline and the 10 second television news grab. more

People become assets

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - There was a time when soldiers were people but no longer. In the brave new world of Kevin 08 they have become assets. Assets as in: “I also want to make sure in my own mind that we have sufficient deployment of assets to assist the democratically elected Government of East Timor”. more

The Normal Way is Down

Friday, December 28, 2007 - Perhaps it would have been nicer if we didn't know about it but Kevin Rudd serving meals at a Canberra homeless centre on Boxing Day was consistent with the views of a man whose Christianity appears real and deep felt. more

The PM Shows he has Been a Bureaucrat

Thursday, November 29, 2007 - Kevin Rudd shows with the structure of his new government that he has a good understanding of how bureaucrats think and work and has avoided the temptation of pulling departments apart and reassembling them in new ways. more

Stand By for Moderate Common Sense

Monday, November 26, 2007 - I have the impression with Kevin Rudd that he actually is what he seems to be: an intelligent and thinking analyst of problems who will try and find sensible solutions. Those in the Labor Party who are hoping that Peter Garrett's flippant remark about abandoning the cautious promises after victory turns out to be true are likely to be disappointed. This Prime Minister is unlikely to be a great risk taker. more

Smooth, Glib, Christian and Friendless

Wednesday, 29th November, 2006 - Kevin Rudd is much talked about in the press as a potential leader of the parliamentary Labor Party but his one main drawback is rarely mentioned in the stories out of Canberra . Most of Mr Rudd's Caucus colleagues don't actually like him much as a person. more

A Cold Shower for the Hairy Chested Truth Teller

Tuesday, 17th October, 2006 - Listening to Kevin Rudd will not be the same again for me after I read a piece by Thomas Hunter in Crikey yesterday giving details of the cliché ridden style of Mr Rudd's 30 second grabs. more