Why I don’t think Kevin Rudd should be Prime Minister.
At 4:30pm today, 21st of March 2013, there will be a ballot in the ALP for the leadership of the party and therefore determining who will be Prime Minister of Australia.
It appears that the ballot will be between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd. Whilst not a great fan of Julia Gillard, I don’t want Kevin Rudd to be our PM. Here are the reasons why:-
1) Since being ousted from being PM, Rudd has acted less than honourably as a member of the Government and a member of Gillard’s team. He has white anted, spread rumours and leaked memos all with an agenda of destabilizing Gillard’s leadership. The party has twice chosen Gillard above Rudd, once when he was rolled and secondly the ballot of February 2012. I think of how my church would operate if I have a key member of my leadership team acting as Rudd has acted. I have a problem with how he has behaved.
2) A commentator a few months ago pointed out that Rudd never comes out and supports Gillard by name. Every time he denies leadership speculation he says “I support the Prime Minister”. He will not name her. This to me lacks character and it all part of the games he plays.
3) I don’t see Rudd standing strong and putting himself forward. Even in this ballot today, it was Simon Crean who did the press conference. Even the way he resigned in Washington when he was Foreign Minister, and then jumped on a plane where no one could reach him – to me all shows spinelessness.
4) Somewhere in all of this, Rudd must have been lying. Constantly saying in public that he supports the PM but then behind the scenes saying something different. So he shows disloyalty and dishonesty.
5) It’s been well documented that Rudd as PM was impossible to work with:- I am reading an article right now written by James Button, ex speech writer for PM Rudd: Here is an excerpt
The truth is, Rudd was impossible to work with. He regularly treated his staff, public servants and backbenchers with rudeness and contempt. He could be vindictive, intervening to deny people appointments or preselections, sometimes based on grudges going back years.
He made crushing demands on his staff, and when they laboured through the night to meet those demands, they received no thanks, and often the work was not used. People who dared to stand up to him were put in “the freezer” and not consulted or spoken to for months.
His staff’s prodigious loyalty was mostly not repaid. He put people down behind their backs. He seemed to feel that everyone was always letting him down. In meetings, as I saw, he could emanate a kind of icy rage that was as mysterious as it was disturbing.
He goes on to say that in 2009, Canberra’s best kept secret was Rudd’s dysfunctional personality and how it was damaging the Government.
6) I don’t see that Rudd’s Character reflects his publicly stated Christian conviction.
Reality is that whoever wins the Leadership Ballot will need our prayers. Right now I am praying Gillard wins. In this Easter Season, the only Resurrection I want to hear about is Christ’s.
Peter
Categories: Australian, Current Affairs, Political Commentary or Thoughts, Uncategorized
peterpilt 
I agree, Peter.
Kevin ’07 had issues. Yet I have a good friend, now in her ‘90’s who knows both Kevin and his wife, and found both of them to be courteous, thoughtful, willing to go the extra mile. They attend her church in Bulimba here in Brisbane. My parents-in-law also live in his electorate.
Having said that, the Labor Party is one fraught with back stabbing. Kevin and Wayne Swan both served under Wayne Goss who led Labor to victory over the National-Liberal government following the Fitzgerald enquiry. They ran the state government from a small group much in the same way as Kevin did in Canberra. The power mongering and games were as difficult as seen when Kevin was PM.
As much as I didn’t like some aspects of the Howard government, generally speaking what you saw is what you got. John Howard may have had his issues, but generally the government was stable, clear in its policies and generally functional. It certainly had difficulties but it had leadership, and values. I believe we need men and women of integrity who follow Christ and who are prepared to act with a Christlike mindset, irrespective of party preferences. History describes that in generations past and society was blessed in ridding itself, for example, of slavery or helping widows and orphans, or allowing free enterprise and the entrepreneurial spirit to flourish in small business.
I don’t think Kevin did that the first time.
Trouble is, Julia hasn’t been much better either.
I’d love to see politics change from being so polarised. Too many times, one person or party has to be so right that the opposition is the complete opposite. Too often we see people doing things in subterfuge to get their own selfish ways or agenda, at the cost to others.
Cheers
Robert
God heard your prayer.
PTL
Sounds like most Christians & pastors to me & a saint compared to Gillard & Abbott.
You’ve heard this interview of course – http://www.historymakersradio.com/2008-01-09-kevin-rudd .
You say you would prefer a person in leadership with no respect of God as opposed to a person whose main faults are a of lack good manners and other hearsay. Curious. Having neither met Julia or Kevin, it is hard to formulate a character reference. But in my books the person whom bows the knee to Jesus in this life will get my recommendation every time.
So Gillard who is an athiest, publicly known as a lier lives unmarried, socialist once leader of the socialist party, has proven dishonest conduct and as it was listed yesterday but didnt get a mention is needed to answer police questions on the AWU scandle is our best bet.
But Rudd who has stated he will not contest the leader ship, has stayed true to his word on all. Accounts is a christian and the people who stand against him are the soicilists and AWU makes him a bad choice,? Strange!
Actually – the more I thought about this the more your point given at number 6 actually worries me somewhat. Please elaborate on this point as it has brought into question your theological credentials and I have up until now not questioned those.
We can question our leaders on the basis of skillsets required to perform the job better then others (character traits) – but you then questioned his Christian character that is his life in Christ based on performance. These people are politicians not pastors preaching messages of righteousness, which is the only time I can recall ever being required to judge someone else’s life/message in Christ (except our own of course).
Because he has played the Christian card in politics, it is fair to assume a certain level of integrity and character. Whether its politics, church leadership or business, when people know you are a christian, there is a higher level of expectation on character and behaviour.
Some good points. However, foreign aid and development thrived under him with Australia’s first ever commitment to reach .5 of GDP. This promise was later broken by Gillard and there is no time framed commitment from the opposition. I think those in extreme poverty would probably be better off under Rudd.
Good Comment and food for thought. Thanks.