The " Charm " Tactic !

It is almost amusing to watch Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese conduct their campaigns for leadership of the Labor party while scrupulously avoiding even a hint of denigrating one another.   The ALP was left battered and bruised from the spectacle of Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd slugging it out in the media.   The party has called a truce to try and repair the damage.

Many in the Labor political spectrum will be nervously awaiting the " Memoir "  Julia Gillard is about to write, covering her " political and personal  journey ".    Safely clear of parliament and with a handsome superannuation income in her pocket, Gillared has no reason to hold back.  It will all depend on whether she chooses to even old scores - and whether she delves into dark corners that her party would prefer to remain veiled.

This leadership tussle will have a direct bearing on which way the ALP leans.  Bill Shorten is a champion of the unions and he can be expected to try and expand union power if he wins.   Anthony Albanese is left oriented and his power base is in the broader rank and file branch system.

Whoever wins will have to faceup to the greatest risk of instability in the party posed by Kevin Rudd.     Many thought he would quietly resign after the election loss, but he has clearly signalled his intention to remain as a back bencher - and that will send shivers down the spine of whoever fronts the party as leader.

Rudd clearly has talent and it seems inevitable that he will have to be considered for a shadow ministry.   He also has unmistakeable ambition - and few in the party would doubt that he hopes to one day reclaim the post of party leader.   As long as he remains in parliament, he will be a " threat " to the stability of the party.

On that basis, the contest between Shorten and Albanese is a fight to attain the " poisoned chalice ".    Whatever directions the new leader takes to reform the party they will always be shadowed by the " elephant in the room ".   Rudd may actually be hated by many of his colleagues, but he still has immense standing with the public and if he ventures an opinion - that will be paramount in the minds of many people.

It seems that the fate of the ALP is in Rudd's hands - for as long as he chooses to retain his hold on power !