Mangled Thoughts

Not in those words precisely, but he made a very strong claim in a fit of temper worthy of a vile tiny tot. It seems that it is not enough for him that he has caused trouble for the Liberal Party by his treacherous attempts to force Howard to hand him the Prime Ministership during the last couple of years. No, Costello is not finished with a little bit of Party wrecking of his own devising.

On the Monday, following the election, despite the fulsome support of Howard, Alexander Downer, and other senior figures for Costello to succeed as leader of the Liberal Party, Costello couldn’t contain himself. He dropped the bombshell; he won’t stand for the position, and would retire to the backbench, to the disgust, puzzlement, and embarrassment of those senior figures and ordinary party members. Taken with his excuse, ‘it’s now time” to make himself an even wealthier man, Costello’s tantrum was an eye- opener for rather many Liberals, who until now couldn’t quite accept what Costello and his bosom pal Kroger are really like, trecherous, conceited, avaricious usurers.

Costello went further that Monday, claiming he had informed Howard Saturday night of his resignation. Well, that must have been after Howard had delivered his election concession speech, in which he warmly praised Costello and recommended him as the next leader. It is quite clear; Howard was not informed of Costello’s intentions on a Liberal defeat, prior to his concession speech. Nor were the other senior ministers. Costello’s announcement, and the content of it was a bombshell to them, though it didn’t surprise me at all, ” typical of the man” was my immediate reaction.

It seems that Costello is seething with fury against his colleagues for not having jobbed him in as Prime minister, and at Howard for not handing it to him, as if it were his as of divine right. He made is humour plain enough Friday evening.

Seething? No, he must have been boiling in his own juices all week long to have come out late Friday evening and declare to journalists in another juvenile fit of temper, the Coalition could have won the election if Howard had jobbed him into the Prime Ministership during the last term in office. It begs several questions:

If Costello was, as he claims, capable of roundly defeating Rudd, then why can’t he do it in the 2010 election? If he is as great as he claims, and as widely respected by voters as he claims, and the genius he pretends to be, then why can’t he recollect the Liberal Party, and destroy the Rudd-ALP Cabinet as leader of the Opposition? Is three years really too long to wait, if he is capable and as well regarded as he assumes? What would have changed to alter that otherwise conceited estimation?

What-is-more, surely he would relish shredding the Rudd cabinet. Consider the policies Rudd is about to impose, and look at the Cabinet ministers. For someone who claims to be an economic genius, and the most effective Liberal MP after John Howard, the prospect of playing with the putty of the Rudd-ALP Cabinet must be something to drool over.

Not, apparently, to Costello. He went further, he will no longer see out this Parliament languishing on the backbenches, with rolledex in hand (to amass a fortune in ” commerce”), he will, he declared Friday night, quit before the term is out.

What it reveals is contempt for the Liberal Party and its members. It also shows contempt for voters. It shows contempt for the Branch members of Higgins and the voters in Higgins, Costello’s blue-ribbon seat,who have voted solidly for Costello in each election.

What will the voters and the members of Higgins, Costello’s seat make of it? Costello’s pal, Michael Kroger, in strangling the Victorian Liberal party, is responsible for an appallingly large decrease in membership, still continuing, and ALP victories in Brackistan. In the bye election thus due, it would be no surprise if there is a swing to the ALP in Higgins. If so, Costello is responsible for it. Certainly ALP need a very large swing to win it, but that is not the point, it is the prospect of a swing only that would be more damaging reflection of Costello’s character and treachery.

On, the other hand, having disabused the public of what he is really on about, it is best for Costello to quit his seat now. For, he has only made it plain to the public, he does not give a stuff about the Liberal Party, its members, and his electorate, and Australians in general, which his “Me, me, me and I” speech of Monday made rather plain.

In the eyes of Costello and his backers, Costello was held in high regard by the voters, over Rudd. That is by no means as evident as they assert. To the contrary, over the years, a more general sentiment of loathing of the man could be as readily discerned:

Costello was safe only as Treasurer. John Howard was respected, for being a principled and honest man. Whereas, Costello cannot be trusted beyond the limits of bookk-keeping; that he is devious, not honest about what he stands for; altoghether too untrustworthy to be considered for the office of Prime Minister. Indeed, that was the point to his treacherous attempts to force Howard to concede the Prime Ministership to him:

He would be Prime Minister without having to find out whether voters found him so agreeable - just like Paul Keating. There, consider what outraged voters did to Keating, pulverised him into a bleeding, blubbing heap at his one and only election as unelected Prime Minister. It was no mere defeat for the ALP, it the election was a slaughter house, ALP carcasses piled on ALP carcasses.

Yet, Howard did go to the election on a double ticket, Costello would replace him in 18 months if the Coalition were returned to office. Voters were not at all thrilled by the prospect. Indeed, would the swing to the ALP have been so large if the face of Costello had not cast a dark shadow over voters’ deliberations?

If, as Costello also claimed Friday evening, a handover, Costello’s “fresh face”, would have lit up Australians as fairy lights to a Christmas tree, why did so few bulbs spark in this election ? After all, there was honesty - unlike the disgusting secret deal between Bob Hawke and Paul Keating that saw Keating jobbed into the office.

There was also the added merit of the continuity of the Cabinet, in its policies and yet to be “rejuvenated” and ” reinvigorated”, with a mid-term succession. This was put to the voters, and, instead, voters blew raspberries.

So, there is something defective in Costello’s self-analysis, and, gad, apart from treachery, Party wrecking (with his Pal Michael Kroger), defects such as conceit, hubris, ignorance, contempt for voters, I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’ll have to be satisfied with the above considerations.

Costello did face the electors on that promise, and the voters did not like the prospect one jot.
There, Costello, your claim was tried before those who do count, the voters, and you were booted off the treasury benches. Hmm, there, the Liberals blundered in promising Costello would be PM in the new Parliament. The mere announcment of it might have delivered the votes ALP needed to win the very day it was delivered.

Is Costello telling voters that they are wrong, and ingrates? That, voters are just so many ignorant peasants who can’t appreciate Costello is more than a glorified bookkeeper (as Treasurer)?

Perhaps Kroger and his pals, “potty mouth” Barry, Russell “cutie pie” Hanan, Julian “Iron-man July” Sheezel” should do what they freely do to Victorian Liberal Party members, bash up in dark alleys all those voters who didn’t quite see it their way.

The threat of Costello as Prime Minister lost Liberal Party the election is not the only reason for the defeat. There are some fundamental reasons way the Coalition was defeated and yet, in view of Costello’s petulance and tantrums, and treachery, and his assertions, yes, do freely blame Costello for the loss.

N.B. Pundits such as Andrew Bolte (Michael Kroger’s acolyte), have, unsurprisingly filled their columns with much the same bilge. Prodos Marinakis has drawn attention to Peter Costello’s father -in law (!), who continues the Costello whine of “I was robbbed”, as Prodos explains in good cutting style.

Prodos Marinakis, The Liberal Party’s Peters try to do a U-turn, on his site, Thinker to Thinker, here, and on Brookesnews here: