politicalowl

Those followers of politics stupid enough to refuse to read a Murdoch paper are missing out on some of the best political reporting for years. And it is coming not from the ranks of those News team experts holed up in the Canberra press gallery but from a pair whose work appears on the finance pages of The Australian. Will Glasgow and Christine Lacy break political story after political story in their Margin Call column. Currently the pair are showing their so-called peers how reporting should be done with their coverage of the rather ugly rift in the Victorian Liberal Party over access to the many millions held in what is called the Cormack Foundation. It is a ripping yarn of a political serial with starring roles for the clubland of Melbourne and the grandees of the establishment versus younger upstarts. At stake are the resources necessary for the Liberal Party to fund effective state and federal election campaigns. The temptation for the Owl to knock-off the writings of Gla...

Giving advice to Peter Costello is clearly a soul destroying task. His words and actions this week are those of a man acting on a whim of the moment rather than being part of a considered strategy. As his Irish ancestors might say, if I wanted to get to the Prime Ministership I would not be starting from here. Yet describing John Howard as a welshing liar is where the Treasurer is at and he now must make the best of it. On his way into this morning’s Cabinet meeting, Costello invoked the childhood advice of his parents that if you have done nothing wrong there is no harm in telling the truth. Peter, you should keep plugging away with these suggestions that Howard is an untrustworthy liar while you are an honourable and honest man. Damaging Honest John’s reputation is now a pre-requisite to getting rid of him. Most of your Coalition colleagues are angry with you this morning because they think their seats are safer with Howard as leader. Once they fear he is a loser, the anger will...

Sunday, 8th May, 2005    - Richard Farmer   When politicians talk, what they do not say is every bit as important as what they do say. Consider this exchange on yesterday's Channel Nine Sunday program: LAURIE OAKES: ... I mean, people must wonder how two people with a relationship as apparently poisonous as yours and John Howard's can get together and produce the right budget for this country. PETER COSTELLO: Well, I can because I've been fully focused on the budget. LAURIE OAKES: He hasn't? PETER COSTELLO: Since — well, since February. And I take responsibility for the budget. Of course I do. I'm the Treasurer. Treasurer Peter Costello did not even try to deny that his relationship with Prime Minister John Howard is 'poisonous'. Nor did he pretend that the leader and deputy leader of the country are working together on the budget. According to Mr Costello he has been fully focused on the budget but since February Mr Howard has not been. ...

Tuesday, 3rd May 2005    - Richard Farmer   John Howard gave a perfectly understandable answer to those journalists who asked him questions about his plans for the future. Of course he gave no hint of an impending retirement. To have done so would have made him a lame duck for the 12 months or so more in which he will be Prime Minister. The only surprise about this whole affair was the response of Treasurer Peter Costello. He reacted as if he had somehow been dudded. And to think just two weeks ago I made the mistake of writing how relaxed he was about the future. ( Changing the Guard  - 20th April 2005). Peter Costello should return to being relaxed. The only way he will not be the leader of the Liberal Party at the next election is if he upsets his colleagues to such an extent that they either implore John Howard to stay on or choose someone else as their leader.