"What’s more, I spent the past week at a leadership dialogue in Israel with both Costello and Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Rudd’s obvious successor, and know which of the two most seemed foreman material.
I admire Gillard, it’s true, despite her spending so many billions on so little for our schools, and her ambition for the top job seems twice Costello’s.
But it was repeatedly clear that she is all caution and process, while Costello is more confident and daring. More visionary, dare I say.
I am bound to keep confidential what I observed at the dialogue itself, but the speeches of the two rivals at the opening night dinner at the King David Hotel tell the tale.
Gillard read from a prepared speech about her support for Israel - just one more part of the rebadging of this former Socialist Forum leader as a neo-hardnose and potential statesman.
Even so, she couldn’t resist shiny-eyed appeals to conversation as the alternative to conflict, as if Israel could just talk its way out of mortal danger.
Costello, on the other hand, spoke passionately and entirely without notes, so comfortable was he with his topic.
He told jokes, recounted Australia’s gallant military history in Palestine, and pointedly reminded the Israeli and Australian crowd that “some” of those present had defended Israel from their student days.
Which means others hadn’t, Julia.
Costello was in command. Gillard was merely auditioning".
