Here we go again
No matter what happens, it seems that the Australian Labor Party will always be under the leadership of the stout and Santa-like Kim Beazley. He's been the federal Labor leader ever since Paul Keating quit politics after being beaten to the Prime Ministership in 1995 by Shorty, otherwise known as Little Johnny or more formally John Howard (the lying piece of tiny white trash bully) .
As many Australian politics watchers know, Kim Beazley quit the leadership after coming second in two federal elections in 1998 and 2001 and faced a vote of no confidence from his own party following the second loss. He moved to the back benches where he holds no major responsibility, after handing the reigns to former shadow treasurer Simon Crean who himself had to slide over for young, brash, upstart Mark Latham in late 2003 as he too faced a vote of no confidence. Mr. Latham carried the party through the 2004 election in which the ALP lost majority in every aspect although many said it was a better result than if Crean had stayed on the job.
Mere weeks after the loss, Mr. Latham was diagnosed with potentially life threatening pancreatitis that ended up dogging him for much longer than anyone had expected and took a lot more of his health than people thought. The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind period for the Labor party with rumors and private rumblings of a leadership change following the uncertainty over Mr. Latham's ability to perform his duties. All culminated this afternoon when Mr. Latham, looking seriously unfit, came out and spoke publicly about his health and announced not only his resignation as party leader but his resignation from politics altogether. Many expected and even called for him to step down but a complete pull out was not in the cards. He cited personal health issues and "media frenzy" over his treatment period as the major influences in his decision.
Into the breach, in comes who but Kim Beazley, who has been planning his return from the outside. Ambitious as ever, Mr. Beazley seems to be destined to lead Labor even if other party members think otherwise. He challenged the leaderships of both Simon Crean and Mark Latham and lost, but in less than 24 months since, he's about to be the one laughing all the way to the top.
As many Australian politics watchers know, Kim Beazley quit the leadership after coming second in two federal elections in 1998 and 2001 and faced a vote of no confidence from his own party following the second loss. He moved to the back benches where he holds no major responsibility, after handing the reigns to former shadow treasurer Simon Crean who himself had to slide over for young, brash, upstart Mark Latham in late 2003 as he too faced a vote of no confidence. Mr. Latham carried the party through the 2004 election in which the ALP lost majority in every aspect although many said it was a better result than if Crean had stayed on the job.
Mere weeks after the loss, Mr. Latham was diagnosed with potentially life threatening pancreatitis that ended up dogging him for much longer than anyone had expected and took a lot more of his health than people thought. The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind period for the Labor party with rumors and private rumblings of a leadership change following the uncertainty over Mr. Latham's ability to perform his duties. All culminated this afternoon when Mr. Latham, looking seriously unfit, came out and spoke publicly about his health and announced not only his resignation as party leader but his resignation from politics altogether. Many expected and even called for him to step down but a complete pull out was not in the cards. He cited personal health issues and "media frenzy" over his treatment period as the major influences in his decision.
Into the breach, in comes who but Kim Beazley, who has been planning his return from the outside. Ambitious as ever, Mr. Beazley seems to be destined to lead Labor even if other party members think otherwise. He challenged the leaderships of both Simon Crean and Mark Latham and lost, but in less than 24 months since, he's about to be the one laughing all the way to the top.
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on Tuesday, January 18, 2005 at 2:52 PM.
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