Joseph Del Duca suggests Julia Gillard and Margaret Thatcher share one common feature – they’re both not for turning.
There are many facets of Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister of Great Britain that could be described as memorable. One that often springs to mind is her speech to the Conservative Party National Conference on 10 October 1980 in which she famously told the world that “The Lady's Not For Turning."
Great Britain's first female Prime Minister had many worthy traits that politicians all around the world would do well to emulate. Not many people would draw similarities between Thatcher and Australia's first female Prime Minister which you would assume pleases Julia Gillard to no end. I don't imagine many people that spend their youth running around preaching the gospel of Socialism like to be compared to a woman who led the world on issues such as small government, free market capitalism and conservatism.
However, to the dismay of both ladies, they do share one significant point in common. Julia Gillard, like Margaret Thatcher, is not for turning. This is only a recent phenomenon for our Prime Minister. She of course has a long history of turning. Her views on offshore processing have had a few sharp turns in them and she did of course take a slight turn from her “there will be no carbon tax under the government I lead” position. But if you look back over the last few months you will see a Prime Minister who has dug her heels in and said "No, I am not turning anymore!"
What makes this similarity most interesting is the fact that whilst being a lady not for turning served Margaret Thatcher so well it is doing nothing for Gillard but cement her demise. When Thatcher decided she was against turning the world was at a stage where removing communist and socialist regimes was a priority. Thatcher did her all to help free the people from the oppressive grip of big government, over regulation and wealth redistribution. Julia Gillard is doing her best to wipe the dust off these shackles and bring them back.
The Gillard caucus only takes a break from bickering behind their backs about each other to implement a new tax and slug every day, hardworking Australian families with another bill they can't afford.
The electorate has yelled from the roof tops that they are struggling with cost of living pressures and that they do not want a Carbon Tax. Julia Gillard ignores them.
The two speed economy has shown clearly that the mining sector is the only thing keeping Australia floating above financial waters and that to ram a stake through the sectors heart through a MRRT would be a disaster to Australia's economic prospects. Julia Gillard ignores this truth.
Voters in Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland have given the Labor Party their marching orders at State Level in epic proportions. The Queensland Labor Party being reduced to just seven members, not even enough to fill a mini-van.
These voters have clearly told Labor they are out of touch with the average Australian. But Julia Gillard ignores them and tells them that they are voting on state issues and that those election results have nothing to do with how the general public feels about her. The exit polls from the Queensland election showed that voters were voting about Cost of Living Pressures, Trust Issues, The Carbon Tax and The Mining Tax. How Julia Gillard can claim that these are not Federal Issues affecting her government is comical.
Not to mention the polls, both Newspoll and Nielsen have given the Coalition a 57-43 two party preferred lead over the past week. Showing clearly just what Australians think about Julia Gillard's plan to tax us out of prosperity. But like everything else, Julia Gillard ignores them.
Julia Gillard is not for turning.
I don't know Julia Gillard's advisers but they should all be fired. How one Prime Minister can be so out of touch with the people she represents is astounding. The group of people surrounding our nation's leader have put blinkers on her and headed her straight towards the edge of a cliff, with our country's future in tow.
If Labor had any sense then they would make the Prime Minister take the Blinkers off and turn, even just a little bit. Look at the people of this nation beside you and listen to what they are saying. We have a nation of small business owners and individuals who do not want the government imposing in every part of our lives. Australians can stand on their own two feet and they want to be left alone to do just that. They don't want you to be told where, when and how to spend their money.
Margaret Thatcher had many great traits and policies that we would be happy to see our Prime Minister develop and use. It seems that being a lady not for turning is not one of them.
Joseph Del Duca is a Mortgage Broker based in Sydney’s Inner West. He has previously worked as a Media and Communications Advisor to Federal Members of Parliament. Joseph’s two major interests are finance and politics. He enjoys all sports along with any other realm of life where two humans are competing against each other. He has a particular love of rugby league but is not sure how many more seasons of pain he can endure as a Rabbitohs supporter.
