Rudd’s Labor Steadily Gaining On Howard’s Liberals
According to The Australian, the new Labor Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd has been steadily gaining on John Howard’s lead in the polls.
During October 6-7, 2004, the 2-party prefered results were:
Coalition (under Howard): 58%
Labor (under Latham): 23%
Now it’s:
Coalition (under Howard): 42%
Labor (under Rudd): 39%
Following the Australian political trend, new leaders usually enjoy a honeymoon period which their popularity spikes, but which following that will dip again. So far, Rudd has managed to avoid that trend. He has consolidated his honeymoon ratings into 2007.
I’ve also noticed that this year’s coming elections is shaping up to be a very interesting one. Unlike his predecessors Latham (who was too emotionally unstable and too pro-working class) and Beazley (unable to get the voter’s attention), Rudd seems to have gotten Howard into a corner. He has stolen Howard’s stranglehold on the religious segment of voters, since he’s a devout Christian. Rudd is also not afraid in trying to blend Christianity with social-democracy to form his ideological platform to be offered to the voters.
I also think that Rudd has helped to usher more ideological debates to the public political discourse. He isn’t afraid to defend social-democracy from its usual detractors from the Right camps of social conservatives and economic liberals. In fact, he is going one better by trying to form a wedge between those two camps! 
I am very happy that he has spotted that weakness of the New Right. I’ve always wondered how the social and economic aspects of the New Right can be reconciled ever since I got into Western politics. On one hand, you have these religious types who advocates providing assistance to the poor and destitute in society, and on the other hand you have these corporate fat cats who are pushing for unrestricted free-market mechanisms and bottom lines, at the expense of families, the poor and the working class. And Howard is saying that they go together? Get real!
Anyway, good on Rudd then!
