You posted; "Lapdog,what do you see as Julia's great strengths, and why should voters support Gillard Labor in the looming election? ..."
Julia Gillard is not my preferred PM and I remain concerned at her inability to communicate clearly with and make meaningful connections to mainstream Australia. Like many others, I'm concerned about her government's budget priorities and its approach to the management of asylum seekers.
I'd much prefer either Malcolm Turnbull or Kevin Rudd, but Tony Abbott offers our future nothing; he has proven to be highly divisive and proposes to return us to his romanticised, turbulent past.
Until Alan Jones and Tony Abbott resuscitated Gillard recently, her position as PM looked very shaky. Some now see her as having toughed out Abbott's over-the-top misrepresentation and muck-raking. Some were impressed when she ripped Abbott to shreds in Parliament.
If Gillard appears to have a major strength that would be in the art of negotiation.
Gillard became PM by negotiating her way in via the back door, was returned by out-negotiating Abbott and has progressed a small mountain of legislation via negotiation. She even negotiated the sale of uranium to India via the ALP's National Conference.
In summary, I think voters should be presented with better choices than Gillard and Abbott. But until our Constitution is changed to provide for direct elections; mainstream Australians will remain alienated from the annointing process.
