throughout my friends list, i see a lot of fine people hoping that john howard and the coalition are beaten with bats and thrown out of parliament, and left as bloody, shitty stains on the grass. if i had money, i'd probably put it on that outcome, as well as the retirement of howard, but i wouldn't put much cash on it, since i'm a terrible gambler. if asked (and it's my blog, so lets assume i am) i'd say the reason for the change will be simply that the australian public decides, every three or so terms, that it's time for someone new, and goes with that. how else can you justify the removal of one party to be replaced by a party that, outside superficial features, looks pretty much identical to the party voted back in?
bill hicks, the comedian who died in the 90s, once said, in describing politics in america, that it was basically describe as "i think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs. i think the puppet on the left is more to my liking... hey, wait a minute, there's one guy holding up both puppets!"
it's a fair enough description of australian politics, i think. whatever happens tonight, nothing much will change.
