The Party Thieves: The Real Story of the 2010 Election

Sometimes I worry about the bias of the author when reading political books. In this case, Barrie Cassidy has a history with the Labor Party, in particular Bob Hawke's administration but he's able to look at the events surrounding the 2010 with a level of impartiality that I appreciate.It's interesting that Labor comes off with more of a thrashing, although that could be simply because they're perceived to have made more mistakes, or it could be because Cassidy naturally goes harder on 'his team [...]

This doesn't offer a smorgasboard of new insights, but there are a few, and it is a solid revision of the events leading up to the 2010 election. The party thieves are Turnbull and Rudd who lost the confidence of their parties, leading to losses of leadership (and in Rudd's case the prime ministership). The similarities between them are noted: ambition, overblown self-confidence, limited consultation. But these men emerge as very different characters. Turnbull's competence as an intellectual con [...]

That a party could make so many errors in such a short period of time is unprecedented. They include:* Failure to successfully claim sufficient credit for dodging recession during/after the GFC. * The home insulation fiasco.* The mining tax.* The disillusioning of core supporters with an asylum seeker policy shift for Sri Lanka & Afghanistan.* The ditching of the ETS "the greatest moral challenge of our generation".* Timing of the election.* The leaks during the election.* The promise to fun [...]

Pretty definitive account of the factors leading up to the sacking of Rudd and results of the 2010 election. Much more depth to this analysis than some of journalists attempts after those events.

An easy read but not much insight. Cassidy provides a commentary on the over-covered crazy election campaign of 2010 and the events post election.A fun read but not much new to offer.

A must read for anyone with even the slightest interest in politics.wp/p20PAS-8g

A comprehensive summary of a very fun year in politics