I guess the proper word is "toadies": those who abase themselves towards the
powerful, in order to share some of that power. "Values" are a word pulled
up when it's useful: Howard has been around for a long time - he was
Treasurer to the Fraser Government in the 70s - and what he's interested in
is power. And he's very good at it. A friend who was a lobbyist in
Canberra told me once that it's very dangerous to underestimate Howard, even
if he looks like a fool.
The cynicism of Australian politics is bottomless, and it operates in that
way in both major parties - at the moment the ALP is dropping all its
principled stands (refugees, old growth forests, &c) because they don't
appeal to the mortgage belt. Reminds me of the thing about being anchored
to your principles: when the situation changes, you just pull up your
anchor... Politics is cruder here, and so such things are more obvious: and
it seems to make no difference at all. The fact is, it's not a new thing;
it's been that way a long time.
Best
A
On 20/11/04 6:35 PM, "REBECCA SEIFERLE" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> However, I don't get this about Australia? I would guess that it's the 'yes'
> that
> occurs among the like thinking who are able to continue in their own thoughts
> while conveniently reaping the economic benefits of so doing? I'm not sure I
> agree that Australia is a group of 'yes men' , i.e., merely complicit in the
> 'active
> evil' of the US; isn't that how Howard and company actually think? You suggest
> that they're being bought out by the dollar, that plunging millstone, but I
> think
> there's a genuine agreement between the 'values' of the Howard government
> and the Bush administration, which is more perplexing, admittedly.
Alison Croggon
Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
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