Monday, August 15, 2011

Tony Abbott: Australia's political weather vane

The Blowfly would like you to imagine that you are a weather vane atop a reasonably good house in any suburb in Australia.

When the wind blows in a particular direction you turn with it.

When the wind doesn’t blow, you find yourself directionless.

Now let me stretch your mind a little further.

Let’s imagine you are a good Catholic weather vane.

Yes, I know, a weather vane with a personality! That’s a huge stretch! But just bear with me for a while.

As a good Catholic weather vane you believe in miracles.

One day during a thunderstorm you were hit by lightning and your brain appeared. And your eyes started working.

You’ve lived a rather charmed Catholic life. Initially your catechism was a stretch for your new brain but then you progressed to being a little choir-weather vane and the singing really agreed with you.

You managed to avoid all the hoo-haa regarding paedophilia because they couldn’t reach you.

From your position atop the house you are in a prime position to watch the passing parade.

One day, during another thunderstorm, you suffer a further lightning strike and you find that you start having some thoughts about-----wait for it---- politics! Australian politics!

After the second miracle you come to realise that you are the chosen one----a very special weather vane!

As the chosen one, a weather vane with a brain, you did wonder why it had to be a political thought you had first.

Why wasn’t your first thought about love, sex or the paranormal. Or even, perhaps, quantum mechanics----------but politics?

What sort of weather vane are you destined to be?

A political weather vane of course!

One that reflects what the electorate is thinking. One that reflects a direction that might win government.

You watch the passing parade with renewed interest.

You see politicians come and politicians go------Hawke, Keating, Howard, Howard, Howard, Rudd and now Gillard. And of course-----Abbott!

On some occasions several winds even blow in opposing directions at the same time. This causes some difficulty with your pivoting mechanism.

Mostly these difficult winds blow from opposite sides of politics.

But every now and again opposing winds blow from the same side of politics and you love seeing the little eddies that they create.

This occurred recently.

One strong wind was blowing for the rights of farmers over their precious, highly productive farming land in northern NSW and Queensland.

From the opposite direction was blowing another strong wind. This said that mining companies have rights over that land so as to mine the goodies underneath-----especially coal seam gas!

These winds really test your pivoting mechanism. You really don’t know which way to turn because both these winds are your supporters and this could divide them coming up to the next election.

That would make the carbon tax seem irrelevant as a political issue!

As a weather vane you just do not know which way to turn.

Now, just at this critical moment, let’s imagine that you are Tony Abbott.

But, forgive me if I repeat myself!



1 comment:

  1. Anonymous12:11 pm

    As a devout believer in the power of miracles, I nonetheless find myself in the reluctant rĂ´le of Devil's Advocate here. You are assuming that the second miracle is proof of the first miracle. While being prepared to accept that there was a lightning strike, I postulate that the first miracle did not in fact occur.

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