Irrespective of the pros and cons of the SPRT, Kevin's biggest...

Irrespective of the pros and cons of the SPRT, Kevin's biggest mistake was to try and sell this tax on the back social division..." the Mining Barons need to pay their fair share"....I think Australia moved on from that sort of notion 10 years ago. Maybe Hawke or Keating could have pulled it off....but the politics of envy and social division do not sit well with the electorate, these days.

Many more people are self employed, unions have lost a significant part of their economic and social importance; lot's of tradies have their own contracting businesses, etc. etc.

Rudd just looks SO fake when he's on camera; Is it his body language? The facial expressions he uses ( and looks like he has been training in the mirror)? The inflection?

When he drops the word "mate" in at the end of a sentence?
I just cringe; he's a bad actor! I'm a Liberal / swing voter. I don't really mind when Labour is in power, but my gut twists in a knot to see someone of Rudd's calibre occupying the position of Prime Minster of Australia. He is performing a disservice to Labour and the country.

Swan is no better. I was watching Kerry O'Brien interview him (or was it on Lateline?), Swan was saying when he was reading the Henry Tax Report, he had "absolutely no thoughts" that the SPRT could be used to plug the deficient in the budget.

Then they cut to Swan mouthing off in Parliament about how the tax would allow Labour to bring the budget back to surplus 3 years earlier than expected.

I have not seen ANY support for this tax, other than from Labour ministers. Every day last week, there were prominent business people lining up to bag the tax, both from Australia and overseas.

The tax is a disaster; Rudd is a disaster. Would Abbott make a good Prime Minister? I don't really warm to him; the other front benchers look a bit light weight as well.

Cheers, Skip