"Karl Mark" reign in ALP.
The faceless puppet masters,
Karl Bitar and Senator
Mark Arbib represents the worst of ALP in modern times. At least during Hawke-Keating times, there are big ideas and power is used to stop Australia turning into a banana economy. But these days, ALP is just greedy for power as an end in itself. (This reminds me of my birth country - Power as an end in itself)
http://blogs.news.com.au/dailyteleg...raph/comments/hitting_the_mark_and_ther_karl/
Malcolm Farr
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 03:28pm
The hunting parties are out after ALP secretary Karl Bitar and Senator Mark Arbib and in the process the shooters are also blasting away at recent history.
Among the most enthusiastic scalp seekers—ironic given the No 1 buzz cuts of their quarry—have been Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and former NSW Premier Morris Iemma.
They blame Bitar and Arbib for the damage to the Gillard government, the plight of the Labor Party in general, and for their own difficulties in particular.
Iemma said Bitar should throw himself on his sword and not wait for the pack to catch up with him. Bligh, who is in trouble within her Queensland party, blamed Bitar and Arbib for her woes.
There is no need to defend Bitar and Arbib. They are capable of that themselves and, anyway, cannot escape their involvement in Labor leadership changes, state and federal.
But there is a trend forming in which Labor people hang the blame for anything up to and including the Kennedy assassination on the two ALP operatives, no matter the real situation.
One should look at what is at issue for the premiers.
Bligh pushed through a privatisation program which was opposed by 80 per cent of voters. When he was in office, Iemma tried to push through privatisation opposed by 75 per cent of NSW voters.
They didn’t need help in becoming unpopular.
They have taken up positions which were in breach of the ALP platforms in their states, and opposition to them was in fact a defence of the party base, including trade unions, as well as the general voting public.
Iemma was not a good premier., and he was hugely influenced by his treasurer, Michael Costa, who was single minded in pressing the privatisation case and rejecting compromise.
Bitar and Arbib were involved in the removal of Iemma. But they were not the only forces at play.
Iemma, a decent man in all respects, understandably still feels bitter and frustrated that his political career has been stalled at best.
However, he over-reaches with regard to the Terrible Two. For example, he has demanded Bitar be prevented from getting a seat in the NSW Upper House, when there is no evidence Bitar is remotely interested in a career in elected politics.
Bligh was unpopular before Arbib and Bitar did whatever they did. That’s why Gillard was not keen to be seen with her during the campaign but walked arm-in-arm with Kristina Keneally of NSW.
Gillard pulled Arbib off a Monday night TV appearance in which he might have given his side of things, and Bitar has limited himself to a tweet linking Iemma’s hostility to the 2008 privatisation failure.
