The South Australian Political Landscape

[Dogwatcher]

MHS ...

I believe he still has leadership ambitions, yes.
The man is very, very ambitious. And good on him.

[Psyber]

MHS ...

I believe he still has leadership ambitions, yes.
The man is very, very ambitious. And good on him.

Of course he does, and I think he'll have a go if the Libs don't win the next election under Isobel.
Vicki Chapman might have a shot then too, but I am pretty confident no one will before the election, and I expect that if she does win there will not be a post-election coup.

dedja, the Hatfields and McCoys live in all political parties - MPs are ambitious people.
It took hard work by the back room boys, recently, for Jay W to get the ALP leadership, and someone else might have go for his job if the Libs win the next election.
Historically, Don Banfield resented Don Dunstan too - both his being Premier and the Number1 ticket holder status at Norwood Football Club.
He said as much to me once at an opening at a hospital when he was the (token) Minister for Health.
(It was late morning followed by a buffet lunch and he already had a couple of Brandies and Dries under his belt.)

I do think the ALP, because of the factional structure do a better job of sorting it out in the back room and keeping it quiet.
In the Libs it has to be more public because any candidate has to try to win the broader support of the membership.
They have the power to chuck out of their seat any factional types who are seen to be undermining the party's stability.
It is not only a small Caucus that wields the power of re-nomination that has to be convinced.

[dedja]

I somewhat disagree Psyber ...

Labor has factions everywhere and so backstabbing, dishonest dealings and outright bloodletting behind the scenes is not unusual, but is based on factions, not family history.

Where the Liberals in South Australia are different is that their issues greatly stem from a very personal war between certain families and their close associates that has been going on for 2 generations.

Stan and Iain Evans, Dean Brown, John Olsen, Steele and Joan Hall, Ted and Vickie Chapman, Roger and Mark Goldsworthy, Keith and Ian Wilson, Christopher Pyne ... all good mates?

[gossipgirl]

Wouldnt it be refreshing if political parties could focus their energies on improving peoples lives

[dedja]

vapourware unfortunately ...

[Gozu]

Jimmy forgot to mention this so allow me:

OPPOSITION Leader Isobel Redmond is "absolutely" convinced she will lead the party to the next election.

This is despite growing speculation sparked by the shock resignation of her chief of staff.

Her conviction must be tempered by Liberal Party history which shows a sudden slump in opinion polls over the next 12-18 months probably would cause some supporters to switch to a challenger.

Ms Redmond blamed the Labor Party for fuelling rumours about her demise and said she had the full support of her party room. "Two senior ministers have made it clear on separate occasions they think we are more likely than not to win the next election - unless there is any disruption to my leadership," Ms Redmond said yesterday.

"They have said that if there is (any disruption), `we've gotcha'."

Ms Redmond's chief of staff Andrew Coombe resigned last week after what party sources described as a "robust" confrontation and led to questions about her grip on the leadership and ability to run a party.

Senior Liberal sources told The Advertiser yesterday the only MP with "the leadership baton in his knapsack" was former leader Martin Hamilton-Smith.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/my-leader ... 6365051156

[smac]

Can't believe that site though, can we?

[Gozu]

If Ltd News are posting unfavourable articles of the Libs I think it's safe to say where there's smoke...

[Jimmy_041]

I thought you said The Advertiser was a crock of $hit - seems to suit you when you want it to
The Labor Party will be doing everything it can to keep this as news so desperadoes like yourself get all worked up

[Gozu]

I thought you said The Advertiser was a crock of $hit - seems to suit you when you want it to
The Labor Party will be doing everything it can to keep this as news so desperadoes like yourself get all worked up

Still in damage control are we?

[Gozu]

The resignation this week of her Chief-of-Staff and sometime media advisor Andrew Coombe (“Elbows”, to those with long memories) might not have garnered massive media attention or ignited public outrage, but in its way it has dealt a body-blow to her chances of becoming South Australia’s Premier.

Not merely from the sudden loss of one of her most loyal and experienced staffers, but because of the manner of his departure.

It appears Redmond angrily accused Elbows of leaking details of her schedule to a media organisation (not, it might be added, a particularly contentious detail). I am reliably assured that Elbows wasn’t the source of the leak, a point he no doubt stressed himself. When Redmond refused to believe him, he interpreted it as a vote of no confidence, and took the only course open to him.

Two years ago, on election night in March 2010, when Redmond fronted the Liberal faithful still a silly chance of pulling off a miracle victory against Mike Rann, she pointedly thanked her personal staff. Her analogy was that her leadership was like a swan: gliding gracefully across the water with apparent ease, but beneath the surface a manic effort was required to keep her afloat.

During that campaign it was Elbows Coombe, then Redmond’s press sec, doing most of the paddling. In terms of strategic vision (something the Liberals have notably lacked in the past decade), I consider him one of the two best operators I’ve seen in that role.

And now he is gone, and for no better reason than Redmond’s paranoia about a leak.

He is not the only one, either; four of her most prominent staffers have jumped ship in recent months, three of them with no alternative job lined up. It may seem churlish to mention this but, hey, the Libs have been happy enough to scrutinise the career paths of Mike Rann’s inner sanctum, and their federal colleagues have had great fun with the high turnover of staff in the Rudd and Gillard governments.

But it is Coombe’s departure, in particular, that has now set Liberal tongues wagging about Redmond’s management style and ability to accept advice.

http://indaily.wordpress.com/2012/05/25 ... sfortunes/

[Jimmy_041]

I thought you said The Advertiser was a crock of $hit - seems to suit you when you want it to
The Labor Party will be doing everything it can to keep this as news so desperadoes like yourself get all worked up

Still in damage control are we?

No - just didn't want you to not have anything to do this afternoon - I know it's what you live for

[Sky Pilot]

Did she earn that job by her own qualifications and experience?

Ahhh...but, you would think that she stared down many years of union jobs for the boys and prejudice against women to be in the position in which to attain that 'freebie'...wouldn't you? The unions have taken just as long as many other parts of society to be enlightened by the equality of the genders, I would think.

Interesting to note Weatherill has chosen not to attack Redmond on this one.

Weatherill has a heart like a carraway seed

[Jimmy_041]

or he thought others would stick the boot in, so best not look the bounder like Foley would have.
He's actually a lot smarter than his predecessor

[Sky Pilot]

or he thought others would stick the boot in, so best not look the bounder like Foley would have.
He's actually a lot smarter than his predecessor

My dog is smarter than the Rannmeister

[Gozu]

I thought you said The Advertiser was a crock of $hit - seems to suit you when you want it to
The Labor Party will be doing everything it can to keep this as news so desperadoes like yourself get all worked up

Still in damage control are we?

No - just didn't want you to not have anything to do this afternoon - I know it's what you live for

Even though you're the person who's made the most posts in this thread since I posted Redmond's statement!

[Sky Pilot]

In under the radar slips Dan van Holst Pellekaan. Hugely popular, underestimated, likeable, smart as, unaligned to factions.

[Jimmy_041]

I thought you said The Advertiser was a crock of $hit - seems to suit you when you want it to
The Labor Party will be doing everything it can to keep this as news so desperadoes like yourself get all worked up

Still in damage control are we?

No - just didn't want you to not have anything to do this afternoon - I know it's what you live for

Even though you're the person who's made the most posts in this thread since I posted Redmond's statement!

Most sorry for having a discussion with other people

[Dogwatcher]

In under the radar slips Dan van Holst Pellekaan. Hugely popular, underestimated, likeable, smart as, unaligned to factions.

Not sure if he's under the radar, maybe only in media circles...although, you'd probably know better than most.

*Read the following as if Psyber is posting it*

Interestingly I was at a function tonight in Gawler, god knows which one, there are soooo many in that wonderfully historic town, and had a brief chat with Amanda Vanstone where she regaled me with tales of her time in Italy. Also there were some erstwhile local candidates and some people who'd like to be candidates in attendance, of whom I gained a favourable impression. It was a jolly good show, honestly. Ra, ra, ra. And oh, wasn't it funny when a sitting member pulled out his credit card and made a Craig Thomson joke++ ^^^

++ Some of this may or may not have actually occurred.
^^^ You know we love ya Psyber, please don't take offence

[Psyber]

In under the radar slips Dan van Holst Pellekaan. Hugely popular, underestimated, likeable, smart as, unaligned to factions.

Not sure if he's under the radar, maybe only in media circles...although, you'd probably know better than most.

*Read the following as if Psyber is posting it*
Interestingly I was at a function tonight in Gawler, god knows which one, there are soooo many in that wonderfully historic town, and had a brief chat with Amanda Vanstone where she regaled me with tales of her time in Italy. Also there were some erstwhile local candidates and some people who'd like to be candidates in attendance, of whom I gained a favourable impression. It was a jolly good show, honestly. Ra, ra, ra. And oh, wasn't it funny when a sitting member pulled out his credit card and made a Craig Thomson joke++ ^^^

++ Some of this may or may not have actually occurred.
^^^ You know we love ya Psyber, please don't take offence

Not offended old chap, but I don't think you've quite nailed my style.
I never use "soooo" like that and I don't think my style is so reflexive - I try to be direct in my sentence structure and put the asides aside, as below.

(PS: I have met Amanda Vanstone once, but we didn't talk about Italy - IIRC it was about something like resources and related technology.)