The elephant in the room !

In the past few days one glaring impediment to a Labor victory at the August 21 election has been evident - disunity.

The almost palpable distrust between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd has been joined by a ghost from the past - ex-Labor leader Mark Latham who almost gleefully seeks to stir the fires of resentment for his own advantage.

Latham was a disaster as a leader. Few will forget his petulant claim to illness after his convincing defeat by John Howard - and his later discovery living it up at a holiday resort while turning his back on official duties as a party leader.

That set Labor back light years - until the coming of the " wonder boy " - Kevin Rudd. The party decided that Rudd was " unelectable " after a series of policy gaffes - and changed horses in midstream.

It now looks like they may have shot themselves in the foot. A wounded Rudd sulking in the background and a revengfull Latham lurking in a media role are taking the gloss off Gillard - and the voter's are strange creatures when it comes to making political decisions.

Tony Abbott may end up winning this election by default. He is not popular and there is some mistrust about his policies - but if Labor is discerned as being in a leadership mess - unpredictable results may follow.

The worst possible result would be a hung parliament - with the Greens holding the balance of power - ending the era of responsible government !