Political Chronicles
Australian Journal of Politics and History: Volume 54, Number 2, 2008, pp. 289-341. Political Chronicles Commonwealth of Australia July to December 2007 JOHN WANNA The Australian National University and Griffith University The Stage, the Players and their Exits and Entrances […] All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; [William Shakespeare, As You Like It] In the months leading up to the 2007 general election, Prime Minister John Howard waited like Mr Micawber “in case anything turned up” that would restore the fortunes of the Coalition. The government’s attacks on the Opposition, and its new leader Kevin Rudd, had fallen flat, and a series of staged events designed to boost the government’s stocks had not translated into electoral support. So, as time went on and things did not improve, the Coalition government showed increasing signs of panic, desperation and abandonment. In July, John Howard had asked his party room “is it me” as he reflected on the low standing of the government (Australian, 17 July 2007). Labor held a commanding lead in opinion polls throughout most of 2007 — recording a primary support of between 47 and 51 per cent to the Coalition’s 39 to 42 per cent. The most remarkable feature of the polls was their consistency — regularly showing Labor holding a 15 percentage point lead on a two-party-preferred basis. Labor also seemed impervious to attack, and the government found it difficult to get traction on “its” core issues to narrow the gap.
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