“The allied
powers having proclaimed that the Emperor Napoléon is the sole obstacle to the
restoration of peace in Europe, the Emperor Napoléon (...) declares that he
renounces (...) the thrones of France and Italy, and that there is no sacrifice
(...) that he is not prepared to make in the interest of France.”
– Napoléon Bonaparte, 1814
Listen – you can almost hear them, can’t you?
Chisels on stone, tap, tap, tap. They’re busy already carving the Prime
Minister’s monument.
Julia
Gillard, they’ll say, is a Labor legend: first female PM; bold and feisty; a brave
reformer, accomplished and visionary legislator and champion of women’s rights.
Gutsy to the last, she went down swinging against a vast misogynist conspiracy
from the opposition and media, and egomaniacal treachery from her own ranks.
Give her a statue next to Paul, Hawkie and Gough.
It’s
a compelling story; romantic, even. Its only flaw lies in the fact that it’s
utter nonsense – really, the worst kind of steaming bullshit. Feisty she may
well be, but if Julia Gillard really was a Labor legend she wouldn’t be three
months from leading the government to annihilation.
You
see, Labor legends not only have guts – Ms Gillard certainly meets that
requirement – but also principles. They are often ruthless – again, the PM has
that base covered – but always in pursuit of an ideal, not simply to grab or
hold on to power. And power is sought in order to carry out a vision for the
nation, not for its own sake. A Labor legend, a true Labor legend, is willing to take a position based, not on
political expediency or populism but, on true
belief – and is prepared to live or die for it at the ballot-box.
Julia
Gillard marched into Parliament House one dark night and deposed a sitting
Prime Minister. She did it by factional deals and bullying, and simply because
she could. It’s not clear to the electorate that she’s given a moment’s thought
in the three years since to anything besides staying in power. She certainly
hasn’t articulated anything resembling a vision for the nation.
Still,
the public might have forgiven her for that – if it wasn’t for the “brave
legislator” bit. You don’t get to claim bold reformer status for policies
forced upon you in a deal to retain government; not after going to an election promising
you’d never implement them; and especially not if your first move against your
predecessor was pressuring him to dump those same policies.
In
politics, once you’re perceived to be a liar or a hypocrite you’re finished.
The PM’s reputation has never recovered. Even the “Misogyny Speech”, a great
and timely oration, didn’t do the trick. People couldn’t help but notice that,
the very same day, the “women’s champion” arbitrarily shifted eighty-seven
thousand single-mothers onto the dole – cutting their incomes by around a
third. They also noticed when she preferred a male factional ally over an able woman for the
Batman pre-selection.
There’s
no doubt Ms Gillard has faced a fair degree of sexism. She’s been the subject of
some truly awful chatter a man would never have to wear. But the misogyny point
had only to be made the once; by repeatedly trying to make the election about
gender rather than policy, she plays into some of the worst misogynist
stereotypes. She begins to seem desperate. She also allows Tony Abbot to look
prime-ministerial in response.
Like
it or not, our Westminster parliamentary system has mutated into a
quasi-presidential one. A government that has, on balance, a reasonably good
record in difficult times will fall because Ms Gillard leads it. When he made
the pronouncement quoted above, Napoléon had a couple of hundred-thousand men
in the field – thirty thousand of them outside his window – and a fair chance
of fighting at least to a draw. For Labor the choice is between a loss and a
wipe-out.
He
has become a byword for selfish ambition yet, when the choice was between his
own interests and those of his country, Napoléon abdicated – twice. If she
believes an Abbot Coalition Government will be as bad for the nation as she
says, Julia Gillard should do the same. She’ll still get the pension, the
office and driver and all the perks of a retired Prime Minister; the Tories
won’t win an enormous majority and spend the next three years selling-off the
country without a fight; and a great party won’t suffer its worst ever defeat.
The
Emperor had more to lose.
No comments:
Post a Comment