Rejection, racism and rejuvenation

It was not the best of months for Australian soccer coach Pim Verbeek, former Prime Minister John Howard, and Kevin Rudd, also now the former Prime Minister of Australia. All three have faced rejection – not just from foreigners but also their fellow Australians.

Australia’s disappointing showing at the FIFA World Cup has been laid on the head of coach Pim Verbeek, the mercurial Dutchman who was brought in to replace Guus Hiddink, the coach under whose watch the Socceroos advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup. This time the Australian national team failed to break into the final 16 and Verbeek’s tactics have drawn the ire of the public and the media. Predictably, his tenure and contract with the Socceroos is now over.

One person who was not even offered a contract was former Prime Minister John Howard when he raised his hand for the position of vice presidency of the International Cricket Council (ICC). In a humiliating defeat, the voting for Howard’s candidature which was meant to be a formality was contested by 6 votes to 3, the three supporters being the developed countries (Australia, New Zealand and England), while all the other countries rejected him. Howard, a well known cricket tragic was mysteriously drafted as Oceania’s candidate for ICC bypassing not only the entire board of Cricket Australia (including Chairman Jack Clarke), but also the boards

BY PAWAN LUTHRA

of the five Australian states. Howard even elbowed out the preferred New Zealand candidate Sir John Anderson, a move which surprised many. Now, while no explicit reason was given by the ICC for rejecting Howard, it is believed that his stance on racism in Zimbabwe and calling Sri Lankan Muralidharan a chucker were contributing factors to his rejection. While one can acknowledge Howard’s views on Zimbabwe, it is strange to note that as Prime Minister he made no progress on the apology to the Aboriginals on the issue of stolen children, nor did he once criticise Pauline Hanson for her strident views on Asians and migrants.

While one can wonder at the reasons for rejecting Howard internally at the ICC, the role of the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) also needs to be looked at. BCCI’s views have an important bearing on ICC’s positions on many topics; the BCCI also has many of its members from the ruling Congress party. It is the very same party which is keen to source uranium from Australia and by having one of its most influential political leaders offside is perhaps not the best idea. That too, a political leader of the party which is open to selling uranium to India. Perhaps, representatives from Cricket Australia can go knocking at 1 Race Course Road to further the cause?

But the knock on Kevin Rudd’s door that fateful Thursday took a number of people by surprise. The change in Australia’s top job was quick and brutal; and the change in leadership has now installed Julia Gillard in the top office. As speculation of an election looms, Gillard has started distancing herself from her predecessor’s policies which led to his political demise. This political expediency has surprised few, especially as Gillard along with Wayne Swan and Lindsay Tanner were named as the “kitchen cabinet” of Kevin Rudd, the gang of four which took most of the decisions. While Rudd has been rolled and Lindsay Tanner is leaving politics, the other two have now been elevated to the top two jobs in the country. As Julia Gillard continues to assert her credentials, her participation and acceptance of Rudd’s policies during his tenure challenges the notion of a guilt-free past. One suspects that over the next few weeks, all government decisions will be poll-driven as the Australian Labor Party attempts to rejuvenate itself under Julia Gillard. A fascinating past month and I suspect that we have interesting times ahead.