
Issue No 117		26 October 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Tool Shed

Blonde Ambition

Ruthless self-promoter Democrats leader Natasha Stott-Despoja shimmies her way into this week's Tool Shed, after mistaking it for a picture opportunity. Must be the strobe lights.

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Natasha's claims to being a genuine political leader of a "major party" has taken a battering in recent days after she was exposed as having no idea how her campaign is being run. While the Democrat hierarchy was devising a complex tapestry of preference deals with the major parties - proving that the self-styled clean-skins of politics will deal with either side for short-term political advantage - Nat was sticking to her sanctimonious line that the Democrats were above all this. Ouch.

In recent weeks Stott-Despoja has made a lot about the Democrat's 'major party' status, ignoring the fact that her party has no House of Representative seat to demand a position with Howard and Beazley in the Great Debate, while refusing to go head to head with the Greens because they are beneath her. This attempt to position the Dems as a major force has been tried before - remember Janine Haines' failed bid for a lower house seat? - but never with degree of dogged self-delusion currently on display.

The Democrats have gone from attempting to 'Keep the Bastards Honest' - a recognition that their role was one of broker between the big players - to 'Change Politics'. The problem with this strategy is that, while it might have superficial appeal the grab-bag policy agenda of soft-left issues backed by a ruthless political strategy is all so very mainstream. At least the Greens retain a principled irrelevance, the Democrats want to be part of the main game.

Which would all be fine, if the public persona of the young leader wasn't such an adherent to the personality politics she claims to be fighting against. What is it about this young, blonde woman chasing the limelight that is so hard to stomach? The pious words? The ruthless power plays? The manic pursuit of positive media coverage? It's not that Natasha's young and blonde - it's that she uses these attributes to claim to be different - and then just behaves like any other politician attempting to climb the greasy pole. Like Reese Witherspoon's cringingly ambititious Tracy Flick in the political masterpiece 'Election', she is defined by her own unstinting conviction that she is the best candidate. This is not the sort of person who should be in politics.

According to that most unreliable source - Crikey - the Nat tactics are backfiring. "The slogan "Change Politics", all dressed up in black, pink and NSD's very beautiful face, has inspired precisely nobody. The question has been asked on the Adult Democrats Email Network (ADEN to the acronymically inclined - no reference to the other Dream-Teamer) is if Stott Despoja is so keen to change politics, how is that she used standard political knife-up techniques on her former leader? The preoccupation Stott Despoja's head on posters and other paraphernalia is also causing distress to those members who think that there is more to political strategy than their Dear Leader's face on a power pole."

Natasha is a politician and she should stop masquerading as something else - a glamorous celebrity who spontaneously appeared on the national stage through some innate charm or brilliance. From the day she laced on her Doc Martins as proof of her 'voice of youth' status, she has played the popular culture for all its worth. The mock footage of her being overpowered by security guards attempting to enter the Election Chaser studio this week were spot on - in the public interest she should be kept out of the limelight. A week in the Shed is a good start.

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Issue 117 contents

Interview: Brothers In Arms
Labour historian Marilyn Dodkin explains how she exposed ASIO ties with Labor Council's Cold War leadership.

Politics: Defending the Faith
Launching 'Brothers', Premier Bob Carr gave his own take on the allegations that union leaders worked with security agencies during the Cold War.

History: Surviving the Split
In this extract from 'Brothers' Marilyn Dodkin, looks at the manouverings around the establishment of the DLP.

International: Viral Attack
Postal unions in the USA are mobilizing to protect their members from the widening repercussions of an apparent bio-terrorist attack.

Unions: A Living Wage
The ACTU this week unveiled its claim for the 2002 Living Wage Case. Here's what they'll be arguing.

Campaign Diary: Week Three: Wave Them Goodbye
In a week when our boys and girls went off to war, Labor fought a desperate battle to fight the election on the home front.

Human Rights: Colombia's 'Dirty War' Against Unions
It might be tough being an organiser in Australia under the Howard Government, but spare a thought for Colombian trade unionists.

Review: Red Rag Unfurls
Ian Syson is an upfront, knockabout bloke. He heads up a new, small, independent publishing outfit called Red Rag Publications.

Satire: New Hope for Labor: Mackerras Tips Liberal Win
The electoral hopes of the Labor party have revived dramatically, after the perennially unreliable analyst Malcolm Mackerras forecast a huge victory for the Liberals.

» Unions Call for Air Price Floor

» With Friends Like the Banks, Who Needs Kiwis?

» Living Wage Claim For GST Rises

» New Compo Showdown Looms

» NIDA Tax Rorts Embarrass Howard

» First Case Under NSW�s New Pay Equity Principle

» Veil of Silence on Public Sector Outsourcing

» False Start for Race Day

» Union Proxy Campaign Gets A Boost

» Nauru Guards Claim Back-Pay

» Unions Await Final Triumph

» PM Claims No Aged Care Nursing Home Crisis!

» Eighty Woolies Cleaners About To Lose Jobs

» CFMEU Gets Disabled Athlete A Start

» Malaysian Solidarity Action in Sydney

» Activists Notebook