Rudd out to prove he's no dud
Rudd out to prove he's no dud
05 December 2007
He's the new Mother-Rudder in the House, rinsing out the flavour with his party Labor! He's the new K-Rudd, the self-styled Kevin07 – oh go on, make that Canberra's own smooth, suave, Kevin 007 – licensed to pass bills.
He is of course, Kevin Rudd, Australia's new Prime Minister-Elect, following Labor's crushing defeat of John Howard's conservative coalition government in last month's general election.
Rudd is the new blood, a former diplomat savvy enough to be engaged in all social networks, speaking the languages of Mandarin as well as MySpace, and as popular as the effort he puts in.
Kev is the stud who twice as many voters want to see in the buff than John Howard (though Howard my find some solace in the gay vote, which had him 4% ahead).
And Rudd is the blossoming bud who internationally has signalled new approaches on foreign policy and climate change, domestically is planning more money for education and a revision of Howard's unpopular workplace laws, and who has a bona fide rock star in his Cabinet.
He is a leader on the edge of greatness.
Or – just indulge eyebrow for a moment here – is Rudd just another dud?
He's a man with self-discipline to the extent of being a control freak, a robotic mind, a 24/7 work ethic, a fiscal conservatism and a powerful Christianity.
He was forced to apologise for visiting a New York strip club whilst representing his country at the UN.
He waxes lyrical, literally, as old parliamentary footage showed him chowing down on his own earwax.
And is Kevin Rudd's habit of asking himself questions irritating? Yes it is.
On the campaign trail, cynics had a field day over the 'inspiring moment' when Kevin discovered a long-lost cousin, live on Sydney breakfast radio; ironic since his extended family despise him over his self-serving "memory troubles", where he rewrote the story of his father's death to advertise his plans for health reform and polished his credentials as a Labor man by falsely claiming his family was evicted from their farm when he was still a child.
Best of all, he gate-crashed an OAP's party in a key Tasmanian seat, interrupting a large accordion-wielding Scot who was pumping Chariots of Fire out of his squeezebox. A riled pensioner called him an "ignorant bastard" for politicising their knees-up, and Rudd tried to redeem himself by singing The Seekers song of longing and loss, "The Carnival Is Over". Really.
But there the indulgence ends, for that song should now be the anthem of the defeated Liberal Party.
Howard, after eleven years at the top, has become only the second Australian PM to be voted out of his seat – which he lost to a tv-presenting Sheila.
Rudd's was a thudding victory that dismissed a competent government during a period of unprecedented economic growth.
