I think Steve Smith is in trouble. Steve ran for the federal district of Perth for the first time in 1993 in the famous "GST referendum" campaign. The Coalition tried to smear him with being a "mate of Paul Keating" but it didn't strike any sparks for them. In the subsequent polls of 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007 the Coalition didn't run dead against Steve - they didn't make that much effort. As an elector in the District of Perth I only discovered the name of the Liberal candidate in each of these polls when I read it on the ballot paper at the polling station - just before putting them last. This time I know their candidate's name and face; Joe Ferrante has been given enough support to develop more recognition than any of his predecessors. His resume indicates that he has a broad repertoire which may appeal to the small business operators in the district and to those involved in community activities.
Steve has a problem which is receiving little airplay at the moment. He was unfortunate in holding the portfolio of Foreign Affairs when Israel did its Dubai stunt. He was required to stick up for the national honour in response to the faking of Australian passports and stealing of our citizens' identities to provide cover for a covert operation to commit murder in a third country. This act was perpetrated by Mossad despite a guarantee being given that such actions would not be carried out using Australian documents. This doesn't seem to make much difference to the Zionists in his district. When I was browsing the bagels at the local kosher supermarket I struck up a conversation with the staff about the coming poll and discovered that Steve is apparently on the nose with the local Jewish community.
I'd suspected the possibility but it's pretty harsh; the government's response was the bare minimum of diplomatic gesturing. Essentially, the Mossad were obliged to swap their local chief with one from another country. That's what expelling the guy boils down to. He could shake hands with his replacement at the airport on the way out. This quote from The Australian is also significant:
"The Australian government has described Israel's action as deplorable and called for a full investigation. Although this is commendable, the Australian people should demand Australia reassess its close ties with Israel. On the day the government sent ASIO officers to Israel to investigate the passport forging affair, Australia signed a $250 million arms deal with Israel. This speaks volumes on the real relationship with Israel."
Steve's constituency contains the largest community of practising Jews outside Melbourne. Most of them are uncompromising Zionists and the supermarket crew are not a minority. My subsequent enquiries to over a dozen acquaintances in the Jewish community indicate that even the feebleness of the government's response won't placate their resentment of any slight to Israel. Everyone had stories of the impact on the opinions of their family and friends of this issue. The general tone is that they're going to send Steve a message. It will also be a message to all MP's on this topic. If Steve wants to save his - salt beef - he needs to start pleading his case hard in this group...there are enough votes there to tip him out.
I'd suspected the possibility but it's pretty harsh; the government's response was the bare minimum of diplomatic gesturing. Essentially, the Mossad were obliged to swap their local chief with one from another country. That's what expelling the guy boils down to. He could shake hands with his replacement at the airport on the way out. This quote from The Australian is also significant:
"The Australian government has described Israel's action as deplorable and called for a full investigation. Although this is commendable, the Australian people should demand Australia reassess its close ties with Israel. On the day the government sent ASIO officers to Israel to investigate the passport forging affair, Australia signed a $250 million arms deal with Israel. This speaks volumes on the real relationship with Israel."
Steve's constituency contains the largest community of practising Jews outside Melbourne. Most of them are uncompromising Zionists and the supermarket crew are not a minority. My subsequent enquiries to over a dozen acquaintances in the Jewish community indicate that even the feebleness of the government's response won't placate their resentment of any slight to Israel. Everyone had stories of the impact on the opinions of their family and friends of this issue. The general tone is that they're going to send Steve a message. It will also be a message to all MP's on this topic. If Steve wants to save his - salt beef - he needs to start pleading his case hard in this group...there are enough votes there to tip him out.
No comments:
Post a Comment