First published on The Drum: 18/10/2011
As our Prime Minister and Opposition Leader continue to struggle under the weight of negative approval ratings perhaps the time has come to draw guidance from the humble hagfish.
Tomorrow is official Hagfish Day, a day to celebrate the ‘beauty of ugly’ and make the point it’s not just cute and cuddly creatures that deserve our attention.
Haikus are written, songs are sung, school kids are encouraged to learn more about the slimy deep-sea scavengers.
It’s not that our political leaders are slimy scavengers. Hang on… it’s not that our political leaders bear any physical similarities that make Hagfish Day relevant; but their pursuit of popularity does end up reinforcing all the negatives that drive our disdain with politics.
First published on The Drum: 11/10/2011
With the carbon debate set to hit the pointy end of Federal Parliament this week, get set for more character analysis of our beleaguered Prime Minister.
With her public persona now inextricably tied to her decision to accept that her approach to carbon pricing amounts to a broken promise, it’s worth looking into what’s fuelling the ‘Juliar’ phenomenon.
After all – Politician Lies – there’s hardly a headline in that right?
Q. Which statement best reflects your view:
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| When a politician makes a statement or commitment they should stick to it no matter what. | 17% | 12% | 21% | 16% |
| As situations change, it is reasonable that politicians change their positions. | 47% | 65% | 36% | 61% |
| Politicians almost always lie – it’s naive to think otherwise. | 36% | 23% | 43% | 23% |
First published on The Drum: 13/09/2011
With popular culture now having entered the prime ministerial bedroom, it’s hardly stepping over the line to offer a few suggestions on what our besieged leader should be getting out at the Yarralumla video shop.
While the poll numbers look like the stuff of a horror movie the PM can draw inspiration from an entire genre of survivalist films that dramatise real-life encounters with oblivion and celebrate the way the human spirit can rise to any challenge.
Most of these movies start with a moment of sunshine and light before fate strikes and the odds begin to stack up against the protagonist. So it is with this week’s Essential Report.
First published on The Drum: 30/08/2011
The sad irony for a government struggling for love is that the disputed use of a credit card to fill the emotional void of person or persons unnamed now threatens to end its rule prematurely.
But the bittersweet truth for the Gillard Government is that, while they are being absolutely smashed politically, the bulk of their policies actually have broad public support.
This week’s Essential Report shows that, save asylum seekers and climate change, just about everything the Government has done since the last election and is planning to do is, if it maintains power, backed by the electorate.
Subscribe to the Unspun
cforms contact form by delicious:days
Unspun Categories
- 6.30 with George Negus
- Campaigning
- Canberra Report
- Digital
- Doddcast
- Election
- EMC International
- Environment
- Essential Report
- Keep our Cops
- Network Ten
- Polling
- Research
- Sky News
- social media
- Sport
- The Drum
- The Punch
- Uncategorized
- Web and Design