fasgnadh
2010-10-27 07:29:45 UTC
"Failure in 2007 was all Howard's doing"
- Peter Costello October 27, 2010
"When John Howard sat down to write his memoirs he could
have focused on his achievements, given generous
acknowledgement to his colleagues, conceded a few
failures - including the loss of the 2007 election
- and made some observations on the long-term policy
challenges for the nation.
It would have been the book of an elder statesman.
He could have shown a spirit of generosity.
And it would have enhanced his reputation.
But it is not the nature of the man.
Howard wants to claim all the achievements of the
Coalition government and does not intend to share the glory.
He will not take responsibility for the defeat of the
government in November 2007 or losing the seat of
Bennelong where he had been the incumbent for 34 years.
He will not take responsibility for what the whole of
Australia knows - that he stayed too long.
The title of his book is designed to hide the obvious
truth. This Lazarus is not rising. This Lazarus was
terminated by the voters of Bennelong in 2007.
How Howard was going to lead his party to victory when
he could not hold his own seat is a question of great mystery.
Now for the first time he "reveals" he intended to
stand down as Liberal leader in December 2006 but was
prevented from doing so - mainly by me, but also by his
colleagues and then by Kevin Rudd and lastly by his own family.
So if you want to know who caused all this catastrophe
it is Peter Costello. John Howard was responsible for
everything except his own retirement, which was all the
fault of . . . well, you know the story by now.
He couldn't go, he says, in July 2006 because I pushed
him too hard; he would look as if he was running from me.
He couldn't go in December 2006 because Kevin Rudd was
elected Labor leader and he would look as if he was
running from Rudd.
He couldn't go when his cabinet advised him to leave
in September 2007 because, according to his family,
it would look as if he was running from the voters.
George Bush described him as a man of steel. He sent
troops into combat. But he couldn't carry out his
planned retirement because he might have received a
few taunts from his enemies?
He would have received a lot more plaudits from his
real friends. Or perhaps he never did intend to stand down.
There is not a skerrick of objective evidence to support
his supposed retirement plan. He told no one. He tells
us that if he had told anyone he might have become a
lame duck because people might have thought he was going
when he really wanted them to think he was staying.
So silly us for believing what he wanted us to think.
Another reason that he told no one might have been because
he wanted to keep all his options and didn't want anyone
to hold him to a departure just in case the polls picked
up and he could get another term.
He had been flirting with plans to leave on and off over
a long time. In 1994 he gave a solemn, witnessed undertaking
he would only serve one term. In 2000 he speculated on
radio that he would leave on his 64th birthday. Two months
before the November poll in 2007, he asked the cabinet to
tell him whether he should go. And it did. But he rejected
that advice. He loved the job and all that came with it.
He had done nothing except politics all his adult life,
and at his age there was little prospect of another career.
The honest truth is that when the time came he would never
have been able to let go - not voluntarily. The only way
he was going to leave was when the voters took him out,
which the people of Bennelong did in 2007. It was a tragic
miscalculation.
In years to come, it will be a Trivial Pursuit question
to name the two prime ministers who lost their own seats.
The other won his seat back. It took another John -
John Alexander - to win back Bennelong for the Liberals.
In any political career there are failures. You don't make
them go away by denying them. An honest acknowledgement
allows you to focus on the successes. I have written of
Howard's many achievements in my book - there were four
election victories for starters. But the worst thing
about blaming others for your failures is that it invites
people to re-evaluate a whole lot of other things as well.
During the difficult period when I was attempting to
implement the GST, a highly confidential memo written
by the then-president of the Liberal Party, Shane Stone,
mysteriously leaked out of the Howard office. Howard
never managed to find out how it happened.
The essence of Stone's complaint was that the government
was seen as ''mean and tricky''. The charge was principally
directed at me. But as the years wore on the description
was more frequently levelled at Howard. On the night
of the 1998 election, having survived by a whisker,
Howard said he would commit himself ''very genuinely
to the case of true reconciliation''.
When there was a genuine spirit of goodwill about
Aboriginal reconciliation in 2000 it would not have
hurt to embrace it and walk across the Sydney Harbour
Bridge. It didn't mean you agreed with every demand
every person walking that day wanted to make.
It would have shown a generosity of spirit.
Now that he has retired, it would not take much to show
some generosity about the achievements of colleagues
who worked tirelessly over a decade for the government.
A true leader can rejoice in the success of those
around him. He does not need to demean their achievements
and blame them for his own miscalculation.
And all these tricky gymnastics about whether he was
or wasn't going to go. When is a promise not a promise?
When is a deal not a deal? It was all just a distraction
from what I belatedly realised: John Howard was never
going to stand aside for anyone. He never had and he
never would.
This might have been the right thing, according to his
family. But that was not the point. The point was whether
he did the right thing by those MPs who would go on to
lose their seats in the 2007 election. Some of them have
never had a job since. And more, the point is whether
he did the best thing for the Liberal Party and the best
thing for the country?
If you happen to believe, as I do, ...you realise how
important it was for the Coalition, in 2007, to do
everything it could to renew itself and extend its
term in government.
The failure to do so was not in the interest of the
nation or its people. I cannot take the credit for that.
The principal credit for that failure must go to the
person who was responsible.
It belongs squarely to John Howard."
---------
"Mr Abbott made a semi-apology for going back on
his word over the provision in the parliamentary
agreement - hammered out between government,
opposition and those on the crossbenches -
for pairing the Speaker and Deputy Speaker."
- The Age 1/10/2010
"Last week, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott reneged
on a deal on voting rights..
Mr Abbott again defended his decision to break the deal"
- SMH 28/9/2010
"Tony Abbott and his wife Margie,
...set aside their differences and prayed for
mutual trust, kindness and love."
- The Australian 28/9/2010
Tony Abbott, Economic Management - FAIL:
Tony Abbott. telling the truth - Fail:
Tony Abbott - his word is WORTHLESS:
---------
"The coalition won more votes and more seats than
our opponents but sadly we did not get the
opportunity to form a government,'
- Tony Abbott, betraying truth and integrity.
Why is Tony Abbott such a LIAR and DREADFULLY BAD LOSER?
He can't accept that Gillard WON, and instead the
dishonest little grub is trying to claim the government
is NOT Legitimate! 8^o He does this by blatantly LYING
that he got the majority of seats and the majority
of votes!
If the pathetic fraud got the majority of seats he would
be sworn in as the New Government. He isn't because he DIDN'T!
If the Government is constitutionally Illegitimate, then why
hasn't he taken legal action? The answer is, he's a filthy LIAR!
and the Lieberals, falsely maligning the legitimacy
of our democracy are tantamount to TREASON
B^D Tony Abbott is back to the REAL Tony! B^[
And he did NOT get the majority of votes, the ALP did:
Votes Percentage %
Australian Labor Party 6,216,445 50.12
Liberal/National Coalition 6,185,919 49.88
http://vtr.aec.gov.au/ Final Tally
- Peter Costello October 27, 2010
"When John Howard sat down to write his memoirs he could
have focused on his achievements, given generous
acknowledgement to his colleagues, conceded a few
failures - including the loss of the 2007 election
- and made some observations on the long-term policy
challenges for the nation.
It would have been the book of an elder statesman.
He could have shown a spirit of generosity.
And it would have enhanced his reputation.
But it is not the nature of the man.
Howard wants to claim all the achievements of the
Coalition government and does not intend to share the glory.
He will not take responsibility for the defeat of the
government in November 2007 or losing the seat of
Bennelong where he had been the incumbent for 34 years.
He will not take responsibility for what the whole of
Australia knows - that he stayed too long.
The title of his book is designed to hide the obvious
truth. This Lazarus is not rising. This Lazarus was
terminated by the voters of Bennelong in 2007.
How Howard was going to lead his party to victory when
he could not hold his own seat is a question of great mystery.
Now for the first time he "reveals" he intended to
stand down as Liberal leader in December 2006 but was
prevented from doing so - mainly by me, but also by his
colleagues and then by Kevin Rudd and lastly by his own family.
So if you want to know who caused all this catastrophe
it is Peter Costello. John Howard was responsible for
everything except his own retirement, which was all the
fault of . . . well, you know the story by now.
He couldn't go, he says, in July 2006 because I pushed
him too hard; he would look as if he was running from me.
He couldn't go in December 2006 because Kevin Rudd was
elected Labor leader and he would look as if he was
running from Rudd.
He couldn't go when his cabinet advised him to leave
in September 2007 because, according to his family,
it would look as if he was running from the voters.
George Bush described him as a man of steel. He sent
troops into combat. But he couldn't carry out his
planned retirement because he might have received a
few taunts from his enemies?
He would have received a lot more plaudits from his
real friends. Or perhaps he never did intend to stand down.
There is not a skerrick of objective evidence to support
his supposed retirement plan. He told no one. He tells
us that if he had told anyone he might have become a
lame duck because people might have thought he was going
when he really wanted them to think he was staying.
So silly us for believing what he wanted us to think.
Another reason that he told no one might have been because
he wanted to keep all his options and didn't want anyone
to hold him to a departure just in case the polls picked
up and he could get another term.
He had been flirting with plans to leave on and off over
a long time. In 1994 he gave a solemn, witnessed undertaking
he would only serve one term. In 2000 he speculated on
radio that he would leave on his 64th birthday. Two months
before the November poll in 2007, he asked the cabinet to
tell him whether he should go. And it did. But he rejected
that advice. He loved the job and all that came with it.
He had done nothing except politics all his adult life,
and at his age there was little prospect of another career.
The honest truth is that when the time came he would never
have been able to let go - not voluntarily. The only way
he was going to leave was when the voters took him out,
which the people of Bennelong did in 2007. It was a tragic
miscalculation.
In years to come, it will be a Trivial Pursuit question
to name the two prime ministers who lost their own seats.
The other won his seat back. It took another John -
John Alexander - to win back Bennelong for the Liberals.
In any political career there are failures. You don't make
them go away by denying them. An honest acknowledgement
allows you to focus on the successes. I have written of
Howard's many achievements in my book - there were four
election victories for starters. But the worst thing
about blaming others for your failures is that it invites
people to re-evaluate a whole lot of other things as well.
During the difficult period when I was attempting to
implement the GST, a highly confidential memo written
by the then-president of the Liberal Party, Shane Stone,
mysteriously leaked out of the Howard office. Howard
never managed to find out how it happened.
The essence of Stone's complaint was that the government
was seen as ''mean and tricky''. The charge was principally
directed at me. But as the years wore on the description
was more frequently levelled at Howard. On the night
of the 1998 election, having survived by a whisker,
Howard said he would commit himself ''very genuinely
to the case of true reconciliation''.
When there was a genuine spirit of goodwill about
Aboriginal reconciliation in 2000 it would not have
hurt to embrace it and walk across the Sydney Harbour
Bridge. It didn't mean you agreed with every demand
every person walking that day wanted to make.
It would have shown a generosity of spirit.
Now that he has retired, it would not take much to show
some generosity about the achievements of colleagues
who worked tirelessly over a decade for the government.
A true leader can rejoice in the success of those
around him. He does not need to demean their achievements
and blame them for his own miscalculation.
And all these tricky gymnastics about whether he was
or wasn't going to go. When is a promise not a promise?
When is a deal not a deal? It was all just a distraction
from what I belatedly realised: John Howard was never
going to stand aside for anyone. He never had and he
never would.
This might have been the right thing, according to his
family. But that was not the point. The point was whether
he did the right thing by those MPs who would go on to
lose their seats in the 2007 election. Some of them have
never had a job since. And more, the point is whether
he did the best thing for the Liberal Party and the best
thing for the country?
If you happen to believe, as I do, ...you realise how
important it was for the Coalition, in 2007, to do
everything it could to renew itself and extend its
term in government.
The failure to do so was not in the interest of the
nation or its people. I cannot take the credit for that.
The principal credit for that failure must go to the
person who was responsible.
It belongs squarely to John Howard."
---------
"Mr Abbott made a semi-apology for going back on
his word over the provision in the parliamentary
agreement - hammered out between government,
opposition and those on the crossbenches -
for pairing the Speaker and Deputy Speaker."
- The Age 1/10/2010
"Last week, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott reneged
on a deal on voting rights..
Mr Abbott again defended his decision to break the deal"
- SMH 28/9/2010
"Tony Abbott and his wife Margie,
...set aside their differences and prayed for
mutual trust, kindness and love."
- The Australian 28/9/2010
Tony Abbott, Economic Management - FAIL:
Tony Abbott. telling the truth - Fail:
Tony Abbott - his word is WORTHLESS:
---------
"The coalition won more votes and more seats than
our opponents but sadly we did not get the
opportunity to form a government,'
- Tony Abbott, betraying truth and integrity.
Why is Tony Abbott such a LIAR and DREADFULLY BAD LOSER?
He can't accept that Gillard WON, and instead the
dishonest little grub is trying to claim the government
is NOT Legitimate! 8^o He does this by blatantly LYING
that he got the majority of seats and the majority
of votes!
If the pathetic fraud got the majority of seats he would
be sworn in as the New Government. He isn't because he DIDN'T!
If the Government is constitutionally Illegitimate, then why
hasn't he taken legal action? The answer is, he's a filthy LIAR!
and the Lieberals, falsely maligning the legitimacy
of our democracy are tantamount to TREASON
B^D Tony Abbott is back to the REAL Tony! B^[
And he did NOT get the majority of votes, the ALP did:
Votes Percentage %
Australian Labor Party 6,216,445 50.12
Liberal/National Coalition 6,185,919 49.88
http://vtr.aec.gov.au/ Final Tally
--
Congratulations to Julia Gillard on the Historic
First Election of a Female PM.
Now the nation can move forward, with decency, honesty and respect
Congratulations to Julia Gillard on the Historic
First Election of a Female PM.
Now the nation can move forward, with decency, honesty and respect