This has been an extraordinary week in Australian politics.Five political leaders have gone in the space of 4 days:
Prime Minister John Howard
Deputy Liberal Leader Peter Costello
Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile
Democrats Leader Lyn Allison, and
NT Chief Minister Clare Martin.
And that now leaves the hapless political witch doctor from Moggill, Bruce Flegg - masquerading as the Liberals' Queensland Leader - whose tenure is at absolute breaking point.
The State Liberals are locked 4-all with half supporting Dr Flegg and the other half backing Tim Nicholls, the Member for Clayfield who was elected to the Queensland Parliament only a year ago.
Dr Flegg must have been suffering from short-term memory loss when he accused Mr Nicholls of "treachery" over his leadership ambitions because it was the same Bruce Flegg who undermined his own leader Bob Quinn last year, ambushing him in a leadership bid and finally ousting him.
It's funny how Dr Flegg was happy to play by Dog and Goanna Rules in 2006 but now insists on playing by the Marquess of Queensberry Rules when the plotters are coming after him!
For heaven's sake, why doesn't he just give up.
If Bruce Flegg had any sense of history, he would do what the highly-respected Australian Liberal Prime Minister John Grey Gorton did on 10 March 1971 when confronted with a no confidence motion in the party room as part of a bid by the Foreign Affairs Minister Billy McMahon to seize the leadership.
The vote was locked 33-all. Gorton then declared that as he lacked majority support in the Liberal Party, he would exercise his casting vote against himself and immediately stepped down as Party Leader and Prime Minister.
Bruce Flegg no longer has the support of a majority of his own Parliamentary Members and, if he had any sense of decency, he would step aside graciously so that the Liberal Party can start to rebuild itself.
The way the Liberals are going, if they start now, they might be in a position to win the State election - in 2030!
And that now leaves the hapless political witch doctor from Moggill, Bruce Flegg - masquerading as the Liberals' Queensland Leader - whose tenure is at absolute breaking point.
The State Liberals are locked 4-all with half supporting Dr Flegg and the other half backing Tim Nicholls, the Member for Clayfield who was elected to the Queensland Parliament only a year ago.Dr Flegg must have been suffering from short-term memory loss when he accused Mr Nicholls of "treachery" over his leadership ambitions because it was the same Bruce Flegg who undermined his own leader Bob Quinn last year, ambushing him in a leadership bid and finally ousting him.
It's funny how Dr Flegg was happy to play by Dog and Goanna Rules in 2006 but now insists on playing by the Marquess of Queensberry Rules when the plotters are coming after him!For heaven's sake, why doesn't he just give up.
If Bruce Flegg had any sense of history, he would do what the highly-respected Australian Liberal Prime Minister John Grey Gorton did on 10 March 1971 when confronted with a no confidence motion in the party room as part of a bid by the Foreign Affairs Minister Billy McMahon to seize the leadership.
The vote was locked 33-all. Gorton then declared that as he lacked majority support in the Liberal Party, he would exercise his casting vote against himself and immediately stepped down as Party Leader and Prime Minister.
Bruce Flegg no longer has the support of a majority of his own Parliamentary Members and, if he had any sense of decency, he would step aside graciously so that the Liberal Party can start to rebuild itself.
The way the Liberals are going, if they start now, they might be in a position to win the State election - in 2030!
