blocking supply, page-4

technically the libs never blocked supply, they just stalled on it. There were many libs at the time who were wavering, if Whitlam had have had the balls and hung tough the libs would have caved in. Instead he was outbluffed by Fraser. Fraser was the 'better' politician, Whitlam had no need to fold. Imagine the prime minister being carted off to the pokey - never wudda happened, but Whitlam was first and foremost a constitutional lawyer not a politician and had too much respect for the law as he thought it stood so he did what he did. In so doing he threw away the people's right to think that any party with a majority in the house of reps would remain in power.

basically Whitlam chickened out - the rest is history.