2 days after the election

Ch - ch - ch - ch - changes

It’s been 2 days since the triumphant win of Kevin Rudd and the Labor party over John Howard and the Liberal coalition.

This is what has occurred over the past few days:

Bye Bye Mr. Costello
Prime Minister in waiting, former Treasurer Peter Costello has decided not to become the Liberal leader and exit out of politics for a life in the commercial business world.

Bye Bye Deputy PM
Former Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals party has also quit as the leader of the Nationals.

New Liberal leader candidates
Malcolm Turnbull (former environment minister), Peter Abbott (former health minister) and Brendan Nelson (former defense minister) have declared their intentions for the leadership of the Liberal party. Also possibly in the running may be Julia Bishop from Western Australia.

Unlike past leader John Howard, Malcolm Turnbull is all for ratifying Kyoto.

Kevin Rudd acting quickly
Only 2 and half days into the job and Kevin Rudd is already looking into the following:

• Ratifying the Kyoto protocol
• Saying “Sorry” to the Aboriginal people
• Abolishing Work Choices (through a Liberal Senate)
  
• Selecting a new Cabinet on Thursday
• Providing every secondary student with a PC

Former PM seat still not accounted for
The riding of Bennelong, to which former PM John Howard has held since 1974 is still not decided. The outcome is dependent on postal votes being counted. Results are not expected until Friday. But it is looking like a Labor win.

Commentary
The Liberal party needs to rebuild itself and provide a viable opposition in parliament. Hope to be able to connect with voters in the next election with a new leader and a new vision.

The Labor party has to come through with their promises and show that their union history will not interfere with business and economic polices .