How Do You Feel?

Prime Minister Gillard appeared (again) at the National Press Club today,  made another election speech, and in the Q and A that followed  some of her answers sounded decidedly Ruddish in their length and convolution. Channel Nine’s Jane Azzopadi asked a seemingly tabloid question about ‘How do you feel?’  and got savaged by critics on Twitter for her efforts.
 
Gillard, typically, didn’t answer it but launched again into her mantra of stable and effective government, hard work ethic, good education for kids etcetera.
But, to be honest, it is a question I would be fascinated to hear a real answer to… from both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott.

I’ve been trying to imagine in recent days as we hit Day Ten since the election in which no leader was elected: How are they feeling? How are they coping?

Imagine going to bed each night not knowing if you are going to be made prime minister of Australia next morning. Or, in  Julia Gillard’s case, wondering if you are going to wake up to have your caretaker status ripped away from you. And to have your name go into the history books as one of the shortest serving prime ministers in Australia’s history.

Does she lie in bed at night knowing the Government she knifed Kevin Rudd for had 87 seats now has only 72 and wondering: Why did I go so early.

How do Abbott and Gillard feel being a whisker away from real power?  And how much of that power will they have to surrender to the Three Amigos to get the keys to The Lodge.

Keep in mind both have just come off a gruelling five-week election campaign which saw them criss-crossing the country, repeating the same speeches, eating and sleeping badly.

Both, understandably, look and sound in need of a holiday. Instead, they are locked in horse trading and trying to keep their own troops in line.

For Abbott, it must be even more galling that the Coalition got about 700,000 more primary votes and now may even be ahead on Two Party Preferred votes – the ones Gillard said would give her claim on government more legitimacy.

But then Kim Beazley got more primary votes in one of his losses to John Howard so it is only the seat count that matters.

One thing though is abundantly clear: The voters are sick of it. They want a decision. And they want it yesterday.

Increasingly the mood is any solution will be temporary. We will be back at the polls within months.

And something buried in the Press Club non-event today. When Ten’s Paul Bongiorno asked Julia Gillard if she ended up in Opposition would she quickly move a vote of  No Confidence?  She ducked the question.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

© Copyright Derryn Hinch 2010