Comments on: Vale Costello. Where is Plan B?

By: Arjay

Arjay — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:09:39 +0000

You only have to look at the differences between Howard and Turnbull to realise the problem.John Howard was the PM most unlikely.Lazerous with a quadruple by pass.As a result JH never took anything for granted,he was there continually analysising as he slept and as he ran his way around Kirribili.To get the top job ,you have to be totally obsessed.
Malcolm Turnbull has assumed too much.He thought pure intellect and personality would be enough.Perhaps Malcolm has time to re-group and learn from his mistakes but he should beware those who keenly trumpet his support,since the political knives are the most treacherous.

By: Bill McMahon

Bill McMahon — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:43:54 +0000

Lack of talent did not seem a problem in the Howard years. A front bench with Wilson Tuckey, Bronwyn Bishop, the Kemp brothers, Richard Alston and Brendon Nelson is hardly the stuff of legend.

By: Chris Grealy

Chris Grealy — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 07:31:13 +0000

What a very timely posting. After watching Parliament on June 22, it would be fair to say that the Opposition was in shock, fairly reeling from the ineptitude displayed by Turnbull.
Tanner’s invitation to Costello to revisit his decision to resign produced much squirming on the Opposition benches, and hilarity from the Government. I reckon we might see the return of Nelson soon.

By: RobP

RobP — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 14:09:43 +0000

This comes across as a pretty balanced portrayal of Costello.
There’s one thig I’d like to know though. Jeff Kennett reportedly used to refer to Costello as “Dog”. Not “The Dog” mind you, just “Dog”. This is as bad as it gets in the How-to-win-friends-and-influence-people stakes. What did Costello do to evoke this response from Kennett?
“But if Turnbull isn’t committed for the long haul or otherwise fails the test, the Liberals have no-one to fall back on. That is not a good position for the country to find itself in.”
Alternatively, if Turnbull is the last man standing in the Liberal Party, it may force him to dig deeper to find the necessary balance in his policies, politics and temperament . As they say, necessity is the mother of all invention. A crisis in the Liberal Party or Australian politics may bring out the best in Malcolm.

By: Chris Lewis

Chris Lewis — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:36:37 +0000

Graham,
I think your concern about a lack of backup options for the Liberal Party is overstated.
If the Liberal Party was to go into crisis, and I can’t see it in the current economic situation where voters will look for an alternative in uncertain times, there will be moves for a new leader (as always in the competitive environment that is politics). You will be surprised how quickly so-called ordinary MPs rise within the Coalition. I see quite a bit of talent where others may not, at least on a par with many in Labor.

By: Chris Lewis

Chris Lewis — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:33:05 +0000