Gillard Going for

Members of the Indian community speak their mind about the political coup that rocked the nation and brought about a change in the leadership at the very highest level extensive political experience prepares her for any challenges that come her way,” avers Sashi Bala.

BY SHERYL DIXIT

There was a buzz in the air. The Socceroos were ready to take on Ghana in a make or break match in the wee hours of the morning of June 24, and the nation was on tenterhooks. But on the eve before this crucial event came another unprecedented crisis – Kevin Rudd’s leadership was being challenged, by none other than his trusted deputy, Julia Gillard. The news sent Australia into a spin, snatching the focus off the Socceroos who silenced their detractors by exiting the FIFA World Cup with their heads held high.

The dice was cast. And at 9am on June 24, Kevin Rudd stepped down as Prime Minister, relinquishing his coveted position as leader of Australia to Julia Gillard. Whatever resentment he may have harboured, Mr Rudd bowed to the inevitable and made a dignified exit, much like the Socceroos.

Julia Gillard is now, unexpectedly, Australia’s first woman Prime Minister. Time will tell if she can face up the challenge of being a credible and competent head of state. But to even the odds, Indian Link asked the community if Julia Gillard would make a good Prime Minister, and to comment on her political abilities and aspirations. So does she have the verve to rule a nation, or will she be a mere stopgap until the next Federal elections?

A medley of opinions

Darshak Mehta is a fan, and he says, “Julia Gillard is probably the smartest politician in Australia. She has a genuine following in her caucus, is consultative - not arbitrary, has her pulse firmly on the public mood and is a good listener. She is extremely savvy and street smart, can think on her feet and disarm hostile questioners with her smile, wit and unflappability.”

Bindi Shah agrees, “Julia Gillard will be a good Prime Minister as she will breathe some life into the political scene and give a unique perspective. She is a very experienced politician and a highly qualified lawyer.”

Noel G deSouza concisely comments: “If politicians wish to succeed, they need to listen to what their people are saying such as through opinion polls and discussions. And that is what exactly Julia Gillard is currently doing quite well.”

“Julia will make a better PM (than Kevin Rudd), if not one of the best Australian PMs recently. Julia is one of my most favourite politicians of all times; I like her the best for her diction and for being on the message all the time, every time. It is a great art for any politician, let alone an Aussie PM!” says Dilip Jadeja.

“Julia Gillard’s strong willed, ‘what you see is what you get’ personality, combined with her

“Julia seems confident and capable and will bring about a refreshing and much needed change, and she has a good image,” claims Shalini Ponnaiya

“Julia Gillard seems to be an extremely focused, seasoned and passionate politician who has great belief in herself and her abilities. She is a great communicator and seems to understand the value of working collectively as part of a team, of a society, and that a strong community provides the best platform from which individuals can excel. She believes in a multicultural Australia and favours skilled immigration,” says Mala Mehta

Madhuchanda Das agrees, “There’s definitely a sense of optimism and prospect on Ms Gillard as Prime Minister. Her appointment is a landmark moment heralding positive directions and initiatives for the nation.”

However, not everyone is as optimistic about Julia’s role as head of state. Says Pinky Bhatia, “Although Julia Gillard comes across as a very confident and intelligent woman, I question her leadership and policy-making abilities. If she was a true leader, she would have influenced and steered Kevin Rudd in the right direction if she felt strongly about certain things. She could have exercised her power as Deputy PM to question Kevin and get him to rethink his approach. There are too many credibility issues to trust that she would be a good PM.”

Yogendra Bhatnagar complies with this view.

“I don’t agree that Julia will make a good PM (compared to Rudd). She was deputy PM and I can’t say that she was not equally responsible to Kevin Rudd’s policies, even if those policies were wrong. She does not instill confidence as the leader of a nation should do. Hope I am wrong, as I would hate to see Tony Abbott become the PM of Australia!” he says vehemently.

Australia’s political arena

Australian politics can be intriguing and exciting, but after the initial shock, unsurprising. Australia’s politicians are a breed who tend to simply oust a leader whose credibility is in question. We’ve seen it happen with the Liberal party, who went through the rote of Mark Latham, Brendan Nelson and Malcolm Turnbill in quick succession, before putting Tony Abbot in the hot seat. Julia Gillard joined the pack by questioning her Prime Minister’s leadership, ironically after he had elected her into the trusted role of Deputy. And went on to take his job. This strategic move has impressed Darshak Mehta who says, “I like a politician who can play politics because anything has to work politically and economically before it works at all. Her timing in ousting Rudd is immaculate because she did not make a Costello of herself. As regards the action itself, it is the law of the Australian political jungle. Get over it! Time to move on to Julia!”

A smart move, but a distasteful one, feel some.

“It seems that Julia Gillard was just playing her political cards right as she already had her sights

Rudd go the way he did. He deserved more respect than that, but if Julia Gillard didn’t take over, then the party may have lost the election.”

Sunil Gautam isn’t impressed. “This has been a petty display in which the 2IC to the PM, who should have played an equal role in all his policies and decisions, decides to oust him and take his place. Doesn’t quite cut it for me!” claims Sunil Gautam. “I was no fan of Rudd’s but have even less respect for Gillard.”

Adil Sarkari too, has a pronounced opinion on Julia’s actions. “I cannot trust her. The way she went around stabbing Mr Rudd in the back even after consistently pledging her loyalty to the former Prime Minister till the last minute makes me feel distrustful about her character,” he says.

Political princess or puppet?

So what was the Labor party’s strategy behind supporting Julia Gillard to take over the role of Prime Minister? Opinions vary on whether this was yet another clever tactic or simply a ruse to help win the next Federal elections. Julia will be a puppet for the rebels (of the Labor party) who have placed her there and once they get what they want they will chew her and spew her. I am sure Labor will win the upcoming election but what will follow will be watched by many political pundits. Interesting times ahead!” says Mannie Pratap.

“Labor really needs to come clean on what happened behind closed doors and the reasons behind the big decision to throw out the PM that we elected. If it’s purely opinion polls that

Raj Paul Sandhu is unsure of how Julia will fare in her new role. He feels she will survive “only until she can keep the Labor powerbrokers and plotters happy. Members of the Labor party make up the policies and the Prime Minister sells them to the country. If anything Labor party members are more responsible for failed polices than the Prime Minister,” he says.

“What change should we expect now? All the Labor policies are their joint product so we can’t expect any major change there. So is it just a new face, a new leader?” asks Sunil Gautam.

Comments Tanveer Ahmed, “While Julia Gillard suits the Labor brand perfectly, “having the mind of a barrister and the mouth of a bricklayer”, she is untested on so many fronts and has not had the scrutiny that someone campaigning for PM has to endure. This will change, of course, but it remains to be seen whether factional dynamics of the ALP are rearing their head at the expense of the democratic process.”

“In a democratic country like Australia, citizens vote for the “ideology” of a party, whether it is Liberal or Labor. The Labor party was elected based on the new ideas or reforms they promised to implement, but unfortunately most of the policies have failed. Now Labor is trying to portray Kevin Rudd as a bad salesman, while still trying to convince us that the product is still worth considering. Clearly, this is another gimmick before the Federal elections. Only time will tell if the Liberals are any better!” says Ajay Sankaran.

“The change of PM is not an issue; such is get Labor re-elected.”

“Julia Gillard was selected by specific party members and she will be more or less like a puppet of them. Australians did not select her and this fact is very much diluted in the media,” says Rina Day.

“It is yet to unfold what changes Julia Gillard will bring and what policies she will take on board. Only the right policies and their determined implementation can take Australia forward, not just charm and rhetoric,” says Shubha Kumar emphatically.

Through the looking glass

The one thing that everyone agrees on is that the job ahead is going to be a tough one. So what are the challenges that our new leader faces and how will she deal with them? “It should not be all plain sailing for Julia Gillard. In the election campaign, the Liberal Party will likely (and, justifiably!) focus on all the stuff-ups of the Rudd Government of which Gillard was such an integral part. It is entirely fair that she should be taken to task for the policy back-flips and implementation failures of the Rudd Government – in which she was the Deputy Prime Minister,” says Darshak Mehta.

Raj Saneja supports Julia, because he feels that she would practice what she preaches. “She intends to manage the borders better and has announced plans to negotiate the mining super profits tax, which would restore confidence in the economy and share market. She is also confident that the Australian budget would be in surplus by the year 2013 and plans to revisit the Emission Trading

Scheme in a rational way.”

A reader who has requested anonymity comments, “Julia Gillard debilitated the party organization just before the elections. Her achievement as Deputy hasn’t been impressive. Relations with Japan, China, India and even USA are at an all-time low. She seems to have no clear future agenda except for mingling with trade tycoons and seems to have bowed to pressure from mining tycoons.”

Malli Iyer is more optimistic. “Julia Gillard is a good politician who saw turmoil in Labor’s policies because of backflips on some its key policy decisions. Her tactics were bold and pro-active before more damage was done. Julia Gillard could become another ‘iron lady’ (like Margaret Thatcher) if she stands firm. The same Australian electorate would respect her (and Labor policies) for her determination, which is in the long term, good for Australia,” he says.

“The Labor government of which Julia was a part delivered income tax cuts three times in a row and saved the Australian economy from recession. She will remain true to her objective of the democratic socialization of industry, production, distribution and exchange to the extent necessary to eliminate exploitation and other antisocial features. She will do her best to achieve the political and social values of equality, democracy, liberty and social cooperation and integration in Australia,” claims Raj Datta.

“The new prime minister seems to be very goal driven and focused, with a collaborative approach to solving problems and advanced communication skills. If her superior leadership skills are combined with her declared aim of doing what is best for the country, we are looking at a great future of this country and a long innings at this position for her,” says Hasnain Zaheer.

Wearing the pants

How important is the fact that Julia Gillard is Australia’s first woman Prime Minister? Quite important, apparently!

“Wow! We now have a Governor-General, a Premier and a Prime Minister who are all women. We should be proud of Australia’s first woman PM. She is intelligent and has a lot of experience. It’s likely that she will call an early election to capitalize on the positive opinion polls,” says Premila Singh.

“It is fantastic and inspirational to have a female in that position of power. It is significant that a woman is in the highest job in Australia. It empowers women,” says Akila Ramarathinam.

Gillard suits the Labor brand perfectly, “having the mind of a barrister and the mouth of a bricklayer”, she is untested on so many fronts and has not had the scrutiny that someone campaigning for PM has to endure. This will change, of course, but it remains to be seen whether factional dynamics of the ALP are rearing their head at the expense of the democratic process.”

Tanveer Ahmed

Indranil Halder feels that being our first ever female Aussie PM, Julia will bring different strategies to the leadership role.

“In time, women voters will surely see her as a woman first and also as the first woman to break the much maligned - and now certainly non-existent for some parts - glass ceiling,” says Dilip Jadeja.

Says a reader who has requested anonymity, “Women do a better job than men, and that includes my wife. Women politicians have been of a high calibre globally like Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir (Israel) and Margaret Thatcher (UK) to name a few. Hillary Clinton is also good, but Condoleeza Rice is the exception. Julia will most likely be a puppet of the right and left wing unions!”

Rather rudely, Sunil Gautam says, “As regards her personal charm to give the party a facelift, the only people welcoming her are the cartoonists!”

In conclusion, it’s fair to say that most of our respondents are willing to give Julia Gillard a fair go as Australia’s Prime Minister. “Whether she will be a truly good Prime Minister depends on whether she is willing to pursue the common good above her own political career,” says Diljot Sidhu.

And as speculation about the upcoming Federal elections simmers towards boiling point, we will keep our fingers crossed for the best – for Australia and our futures. It’s anyone’s guess on how Julia Gillard will fare as the country’s Prime Minister.

“I believe under her leadership we as citizens will become more equal and Australia as a country will become more prosperous,” says Raj Datta.

Well, we hope so, we certainly hope so!