Re your statements; "... Many of the things for which you accuse Abbott have been problems of Gillard's own making ..." "... Abbott is simply providing a voice for the majority. ..." "... And, we should all be defending the right to free speech in this country. ..."
I have never claimed that Julia Gillard has performed well since becoming PM or that she should not be held accountable for that performance. Gillard's public presentation is a turnoff for me & she appears to lack 'the common touch' that were the hallmarks of Bob Hawke's leadership style.
As for Gillard's broken promises & lies, well she is a politician - let's not forget 'core & non-core promises' for example. She has to cop that criticism & will certainly be judged on it at the next election; as were Howard & Keating before him.
Tony Abbott has done much more than just act as a voice of the majority, he has actively moulded public opinion through relentless use of slogans & the assertion of misleading information as fact. Publicly advising business to boycott the purchase of carbon credits is a little more than acting as a megaphone.
Re other aspects of Abbott's performance, where we appear to differ is in my expectation that our alternative PM will provide leadership by conveying his vision for our future & spelling out how that will be achieved.
Peter Reith's criticism of the Liberal Party under Abbott as a policy-free zone should be of great concern to everyone; it is indicative of a lack of readiness to govern at a time when global turbulence is at fever pitch. Nor has Abbott explained how he will fund his roll-back of the CT/ETS & the election funding black hole that carries over from the 2010 election.
Malcolm Turnbull though is a different kettle of fish altogether, in my opinion someone who ticks many more boxes than Gillard & Abbott combined.
As to freedom of speech, I agree with you. But as I've said before that does not extend to racial vilification, sexism & the presentation of erroneous information as fact.
