Julie Bishop 'owns' the press club.

[Wokko]

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/foreign-minister-julie-bishop-appears-at-national-press-club-owns-it/story-fnixwvgh-1227105944897/

No doubt in my mind she's setting herself up as next Liberal PM. Very articulate, engages those on both sides of politics and can express ideas and policies succinctly and in a way that average Joe (looking at you Hockey) could understand. Has smashed it out of the park as Foreign Minister which is always a good basis for a leadership run.

With Abbott getting more and more on the nose I could see a late run if the polls go through the floor, otherwise a turn as Opposition Leader before taking over after the protest vote sweeps Borin' Shorten in as the most dull PM in history.

Haters gonna hate I know (looking at you Tannin) but bookmark this thread because it's going to happen.

*fixed link*

[David]

Yeah, she seems the natural replacement for Tony when he (hopefully) loses horribly in 2016.

I'd prefer Turnbull, of course, (like most left-leaning people, which is exactly why he has so little chance of taking over), and as for the rest, well, I dunno. Australia voted for Tony Abbott, after all. Anything's possible.

[pietillidie]

On the superficial political level, which is what people vote on, you're probably right, Wokko. And she's been careful to tick all of the conservative boxes without looking like the other fruit bats around her.

She is also in the highly favourable position of attracting the steady, 'make me all warm again' conservative vote, much like Howard. All she has to do is play a straight bat like that off the back of the wayward Gillard and Abbott, hope nothing important happens in the world that requires big decisions (or like Howard's Iraq, she gets out before the extent of the horrific conservative policy disgrace is known), and conservative dollars will carry her.

Sadly, that just makes her the conservative equivalent of Shorten; yet another overseer of gradual competitive decline: An increasing wealth gap; a further stalling or drop in real wage growth; a steady slide into the vile pit of two-tiered health, education and other essential services; greater reliance on global natural resources capital; an increased corrupt nexus between business, government and faux unions; less career opportunities, success pathways and lower wages and general hope for young people; an intensifying of the housing affordability crisis for young people based heavily on upper middle-class welfare; a more destructive zero-sum game between the aggressive, elite-craving, aspirational upper-middle and everyone else below them in society; greater monopolistic powers and political interference from international capital-backed entities; a further decline in science and technology; a further disengagement from international responsibilities outside of unquestioned destructive war support and public relations for the US; a general cultural and political abuse of the unpopular disadvantaged; the further entrenching the wealth gap through a culture of poverty and blame; the further demonisation of those who genuinely care about Aboriginal communities, blunting the only effective alleviation of suffering on the ground for what is a very long-term recovery process; and the further pretend care of the elderly, leaving them in greater misery (but still voting conservative).

That said, I'd still take her in a heartbeat over looney tunes Abbott, especially as there were signs that she was pulled into line early by Abbott's conservative minions, hinting that she's at least not as culturally conservative as Twithead. But that remains to be tested, I guess, as it could quite easily have just been a ruse. Not to mention once people start dining with big capital their degree of world ignorance tends to grow exponentially.

I just wish I'd get to ask the questions sometimes; I mean, all that stuff is trivial, rehearsed PR. Australia's serious domestic problems are slow-boil problems; they will creep along until social polarisation becomes irreversibly entrenched as it is in the US, and suddenly one day people will look at each other dumbfounded like the jingiostic cultural narcissists on cable news over there and wonder how it ever happened.

[partypie]

julie hasn't put a foot wrong. She has papered over Abbott's foreign policy boo boos very well. The Libs big problem at the moment is getting the budget passed (hello Gough) and arresting the rising deficit and unemployment. Her lack of economic credentials may impede her progress. Apparently she is very different privately to how she appears publicly. Good luck to her.

[think positive]

Gees looks like we don't have much to look forward too! Can anyone suggest anyone who might bring some cheer?

[pietillidie]

^It's up to a shift in public attitude; politicians will never act to fix slow-boil problems.

[David]

[Brenny]

[HAL]

Australia is my home.

[David]

Ha, well, we can dream.

[Tannin]

Bishop is unfit to hold public office in any capacity. Her deliberate and cold-blooded targeting of innocent asbestos victims on their deathbeds is unforgivable. She makes Hockey, Abbott and even Abetz look like decent, moral people, and that takes some doing.

[Wokko]

[stui magpie]

I reckon she beats Gillard on just about every measure.

I had high hopes for Gillard but she failed badly to deliver in any real way.

[3.14159]

[Tannin]

Gillard:

1: strong economy
2: carbon price
3: National disability scheme
4: major education reforms
5: peace
6: fairer tax system

All important. All successful. All delivered. Clearly the best Australian Prime Minister since Keating. She delivered.

PS: 2, 4, 5 & 6 above already wrecked by Abbott. He's still working on destroying 1 and 3, but he's well on the way.