JULIA GILLARD STAKES HER CLAIM

Personally, I am sorry that Julia Gillard is not running for the ALP leadership on Friday. It would have make the contest more credible for there to be an election, and a contested ballot is a good test of the relative strengths of the opposing candidates. Nevertheless, Julia has performed stunningly, not putting a foot wrong in staking out her claim for a leadership position the next time around. She has been a cool and credible media performer and has clearly impressed enough of her colleagues to have reportedly secured around one-third of the Caucus votes had she run. And of course her potential candidacy has flushed out all the troglodytes in the ALP and the media who claim that a “single and childless” person (they mean woman) cannot ever be elected leader of a major Australian political party since such a person would not be electable by the people and thus could never be Prime Minister. Gillard has also been criticised for her kitchen being too clean and tidy! Talk about can’t win territory. If her kitchen had been messy, she would have been criticised for being a bad housekeeper (and thus unable to run the country). If she had kids, she’d probably be told to go home and look after them until they grew up, by which time her political moment may well have passed. It is good to get all this stuff out in the open before she becomes a serious contender in the future. I wonder if the Australian electorate is as backward and sexist as many of her colleagues seem to be. I suspect the electorate is more tolerant and more interested in a candidate’s competence, ideas and leadership skills than in her marital or maternal status. It is something to explore before Gillard has her next tilt at a leadership position.