KNOCK KNOCK Who's there? It's John Howard but is anyone listening!!
July 2nd 2007 14:38
The polls are in and it appears Howard’s move on the aboriginal issue has been seen as cynical political exercise. While I think it is true to say that most people hope that it ultimately leads to the betterment of the lot of indigenous children and the indigenous communities at large most people have now come to see through the cynicism of the Howard Government.
Wether it be tax cuts and childcare concessions delivered in the May budget, petrol pricing inquiries set up a few weeks ago and the now so-called sudden emergency within indigenous communities the general public are now wise and quite frankly rather sceptical of every thing Howard does. His longevity in office is fast becoming his Achilles heel. He no longer can expect to throw out a few dollars or hold a belated inquiry or declare an emergency without the public viewing them in terms of the electoral cycle we are in.
This must lead some in the coalition to wonder if it was Peter Costello announcing these initiatives in a fresh new look cabinet wether the electorate would be less cynical. Though it is no time to make that change now but last year would have been an ideal time to bring forth some renewal.
The pressure is certainly building on Howard and his attacks on Rudd seem to be failing. The fear has been for sometime now that the public feel safe with the conservative Christian approach of Rudd and they have done to Howard what they had been doing to Rudd’s predecessor Beazley. They are just not listening!
In away Howard’s desire when he was first elected to make us relaxed and comfortable is now working against him. He has so much of the electorate relaxed and comfortable that they are quite happy to vote for change, relaxed and comfortable in the knowledge that with the economy humming along and the prospect of one of the most conservative Labor leaders we have seen that things should remain the same. Howard’s fear mongering over the prospect of a Labor government is just not washing anymore.
The other problem is those who are not benefiting from a booming economy and who have no time to be relaxed and comfortable as they work hard to maintain high mortgage repayments or struggle to get a deposit together for a home or simple are marginalised into poverty have given Howard over ten years to let them seek some reward from the massive wealth we reap from a booming mining industry have given up on him.
Howard has probably less then 4 months to turn it around and as yet everything he tries does not seem to resonate anymore. Where he goes next with his efforts to persuade the electorate remains to be seen.
Wether it be tax cuts and childcare concessions delivered in the May budget, petrol pricing inquiries set up a few weeks ago and the now so-called sudden emergency within indigenous communities the general public are now wise and quite frankly rather sceptical of every thing Howard does. His longevity in office is fast becoming his Achilles heel. He no longer can expect to throw out a few dollars or hold a belated inquiry or declare an emergency without the public viewing them in terms of the electoral cycle we are in.
This must lead some in the coalition to wonder if it was Peter Costello announcing these initiatives in a fresh new look cabinet wether the electorate would be less cynical. Though it is no time to make that change now but last year would have been an ideal time to bring forth some renewal.
The pressure is certainly building on Howard and his attacks on Rudd seem to be failing. The fear has been for sometime now that the public feel safe with the conservative Christian approach of Rudd and they have done to Howard what they had been doing to Rudd’s predecessor Beazley. They are just not listening!
In away Howard’s desire when he was first elected to make us relaxed and comfortable is now working against him. He has so much of the electorate relaxed and comfortable that they are quite happy to vote for change, relaxed and comfortable in the knowledge that with the economy humming along and the prospect of one of the most conservative Labor leaders we have seen that things should remain the same. Howard’s fear mongering over the prospect of a Labor government is just not washing anymore.
The other problem is those who are not benefiting from a booming economy and who have no time to be relaxed and comfortable as they work hard to maintain high mortgage repayments or struggle to get a deposit together for a home or simple are marginalised into poverty have given Howard over ten years to let them seek some reward from the massive wealth we reap from a booming mining industry have given up on him.
Howard has probably less then 4 months to turn it around and as yet everything he tries does not seem to resonate anymore. Where he goes next with his efforts to persuade the electorate remains to be seen.
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