More this morning from the lovely Stanley Bruce, Australian Prime Minister 1923-1929 (and the only PM pre-Howard to lose his own seat in a Federal Election).
In his 1925 policy launch speech at the Dandenong Shire Hall, Bruce began with a rant about electoral politics:
“In the past it has been the practice for the Prime Minister, in announcing the policy of the party which he leads, to recite in the greatest detail the record of the Government, to set out a defence of all it actions, and to make elaborate promises which are designed to attract different sections of the electors – to support the Government. Following closely upon the policy speech of the leader of the Opposition, in which he condemns all the actions of the Government and makes even more lavish promises.
This practice has lead to elections becoming contests in which parties endeavour to outbid each other for the people’s favour, and in which an appeal is made to the cupidity and the lowest instincts of the people. As a result great and vital problems, upon the solution of which the happiness of the people, the prosperity of the country depend, are lost in the welter of the party struggle.
That course I refuse to follow. The times are too critical. For any National leader to-day to deceive the people by promises which, either for financial or constitutional reasons, he could never redeem would constitute a betrayal of the obligations and duties resting upon him which should never be forgiven."
Wow. Well said Stanley - very nice sentiments [and yes Brie, he does look somewhat like John Cusack, who may be asked to play him in a movie entitled
Red Scare: Election 1925].
Can we skip forward a number of years to everyone's favourite economic conservative, PM Kevin Rudd?
Here's some of his 2007 policy launch speech, as Opposition Leader from Brisbane:
"Remarkably as interest rates rose yet again last week, we now find Mr Howard running up the white flag on inflation, and running up a huge bill in a desperate bid to get re-elected. A bill he is happy to leave for us all to pay – once he heads off into retirement. Monday’s feeding frenzy of expenditure would actually make inflationary pressures worse.
Mr Howard spent nearly $10 billion on Monday. Trying to buy his way out of political trouble. And he did so little more than an hour after the Reserve Bank of Australia issued its monetary policy state ment warning of rising inflationary pressures. How irresponsible can you get?
...And now with this latest irresponsible and desperate pre-election splurge, Mr Howard is putting his own interests ahead of working families by risking further increases in their mortgage rates. I have no intention today of repeating Mr Howard’s irresponsible spending spree.
* Unlike Mr Howard, I will heed the warnings of the Reserve Bank.
* Unlike Mr Howard, I will not place in jeopardy households already struggling with mortgages.
* Unlike Mr Howard, I don’t stand before you with a bag full of irresponsible promises that could put upward pressure on inflation.
Today I am saying loud and clear that this sort of reckless spending must stop. I am determined that any commitments I make are first and foremost economically responsible. That’s why the commitments I announce today will cost less than one quarter of those Mr Howard announced on Monday."
Sounds familiar - and remarkably effective, both in 1925 and 2007.
That's all, folks.
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