politicalowl

Mark Latham has come to the aid of Pauline Hanson by making robocalls for One Nation in the Queensland by-election seat of Longman And tonight the pair further develop their new political marriage with a joint appearance on Sky News starring Graham Richardson as the best man. It is something worth singing along to.

Here’s a letter to the AFR’s editor this morning; @MrKRudd pic.twitter.com/077zD92XEl — Sabra Lane (@SabraLane) April 9, 2018 Asked about Kevin Rudd, Bill Shorten says he doesn't tend to read the letters page of the @FinancialReview — Tom McIlroy (@TomMcIlroy) April 10, 2018 There's only one person who could take Turnbull's 30 Newspoll losses and think the story was about him from 8 years ago .... Rudd's ego never sleeps ..... https://t.co/2qdM8mwpZg — Real Mark Latham (@RealMarkLatham) April 8, 2018 Gillard blames the Medieval superstition of "unconscious bias" for her demise. But people were very conscious of the reasons they didn't like her: knifed Rudd, broke her promises, defended Thommo (a great feminist) etc. What a joke. https://t.co/BCR5P2GUML via @smh — Real Mark Latham (@RealMarkLatham) April 6, 2018 . @Barnaby_Joyce : @TurnbullMalcolm might have to 'look at a different way of doing business' if the polls don...

Mark Latham does appear to have inherited something from his mentor Gough Whitlam - a dislike of having his summer holidays interrupted. In 1974 Prime Minister Whitlam was most reluctant to return to Australia from Europe when Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin and even when he came back he did not hang around for long before resuming his overseas sojourn. In 2004 Opposition Leader Latham was well enough to play for an hour or two with his kids in the swimming pool at a holiday resort but not able, apparently, to phone his press secretary to put out a few token few words of sympathy for the victims of the Asian tsunami. There is perhaps a touch of arrogance there and it is providing Mr Latham's detractors with new ammunition to fire at him. The airwaves are full of breathless journalists quoting unnamed sources in the Labor Caucus predicting his downfall. Those that are not dwelling on the absence of words of sympathy are claiming to be concerned by their leader's pancreatiti...

Steam rolling Peter Garrett in to the endorsement for a safe seat has certainly improved Mark Latham's chances of becoming Prime Minister and it is not because more people are likely to vote one for Labor. Winning Federal elections these days is not just about maximising the vote of your own party. It's those second preferences that count and, with the Greens likely to be the largest third party, getting their 2's next to a Labor name will be all important. Back in 1975 was the last time that a government secured a majority of votes in its own right and before that it was only Robert Menzies in 1949 and 1951 who gained more than 50%. At the other 19 elections since 1949, votes for minor parties and independents were the determining factors. The importance of those second preferences has increased dramatically as the combined Labor and Liberal/National share of the vote has declined from the high 90% of the early 1950ies to the less than 81% gained in 2001. Fo...