26 November 2007

Glad (it's) all over

As the old Dave Clark Five song of the same (headline) name says, I'm glad the election is over, if nothing more than to give us a break from the tedium of campaigning (and babies).

Labor's victory was deserved, given that for the most part the Liberals simply weren't listening.

Maxine McKew, the Labor candidate for Bennelong, who, at the time of writing, seems to have ousted the Prime Minister from his seat, gave a pointer as to why the Liberals had lost.

McKew, a former high-profile TV journalist and first-time candidate, said she was amazed at the people she met while door-knocking and visiting shopping centres. Well, surprise, surprise.

They're called Australians, or more precisely, constituents ... the people who just sacked a government ... and a PM who had held his seat for 30 years.

This is what politicians, particularly those in power, forget: that they represent people. If the people aren't being listened to, they have the amazing opportunity to have their say, even if it is only once every three years.

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