Rudd Gillard Joust: Beginning of the End for Labor?

The dramatic resignation of Kevin Rudd as the foreign minister of Australia, the attendant joust between him and the triumph of Julia Gillard stands as a metaphor for intraparty intrigue and the ultimate arbiter of power in multi party democracies. It is clear that Rudd’s tactics –reaching out to the voters over those who hold real power in the Labor caucus- in an attempt to wean the leadership of the Labor party and seize prime ministership failed. Chastened, the ex prime minister has perhaps no choice but to retreat in the shadows of the Labor party. And , Julia Gillard can preen in smug satisfaction.

However, the significance and import of the ruckus goes beyond the ego joust of the politicians in contention. It reflects the fact that individuals appear to matter little in the politics of democracies and that real power is usually held by a cabal of men who determine the fortunes of those who are the ostensible face of power. And that, elections, while they do serve as a mechanism for power rotation, do not merely reflect the will of the people in the strict sense of the term. They are more or less mechanisms or in the nature of a beauty contest where the best pageants, preening on stage win while those who hold real power are in the background.

At another level, the whole saga is indicative of the demise the Labor party as a force in Australian politics. Trailing behind in opinion polls and popularity graphs, the party is set to perhaps eclipse in the coming elections. A trail blazing party, in some senses, and differentiating itself from its peers in the rest of the western world, Australia’s labor party, under the dynamic leadership of the intense and mercurial Paul Keating, pioneered Australia’s opening up to the world and embracing globalization- a bold and beautiful move that only enriched Australia. However, after this initial impetus, the party lost momentum and this paved the way for the Liberals to gain power and control of Australia’s politics.

The Australian Labor Party came to power again on a wave of disaffection and discontent on part of the Australian populace. They cobbled together a coalition with the Greens and some independents and managed an uneasy coalition. This coming to power of Labor and an assortment of others was not a vote for labor but more or less an anti incumbency vote and a general discontent and disaffection among the populace. Given the coalition dynamic and the fragmentary nature of politics, governance was impacted and legislation on key issues stalled. As a result, the Labor party was unable to capitalize on ins electoral victory and Australian politics became prosaic and rather boring. This registered with the voters and ratings and opinion polls reflect this abundantly with Labor performing dismally.

Now the question is whether this bodes good for Australia. Given Labor’s dismal performance, it would appear that the eclipse of the Labor party may not be a bad thing for Australia and its national interest. The ‘ New Left’ agenda adopted by the Labor party in some measure is not really reflective of the Left and ends up as a set of half hearted measures to embrace policy and political paradigms that are the need of the hour. This may , to an extent, explain Labor’s drift and the decrepitude that Australian politics has sunk into. A rejuvenated politics means showing the door to the Labor party and giving the Liberal’s another chance or in the Australian lexicon, ‘a fair go’. A majority by the Liberals would get rid of the coalition government and give them a free hand in connecting to voter aspirations and goading Australia in healthy and salubrious directions. A reformulated and rejuvenated Liberal party under youthful leadership may just be what Australia needs. It is therefore about time that the Australian electorate mulls hard and gives Tony Abbott the chance to prove his mettle. This , in the scheme of things , may be good for Australia, democracy in Australia and even the Labor party.