One doesn’t like to pre-judge these things. And it has to be said that if the last few years of politics have proven nothing else it is that anyone can do anything and still come out on top. But the election of Bill Shorten to the Labor leadership is prima facie a poor way to rebuild the party. From the SMH:
Shattered Labor MPs are likely to install Bill Shorten as party leader under a consensus plan designed to avoid a rank-and-file ballot and put the bitter divisions of the Rudd and Gillard era behind them.
While former deputy prime minister Anthony Albanese remains in the frame with strong support in the parliamentary caucus, he is said to favour standing aside to allow the younger Mr Shorten through and avoid a contest.
Shorten is a died-in-the-wool union power-broker and was central to the assassination of Kevin Rudd and then again on the return assassination of Julia Gillard.
For a party that was just executed by the people for unforgivable leadership instability driven by union-sponsored factional bastardy, turning to Machiavelli himself does not make a whole lot of sense.
