Hi all,
After 4 months or so in office, I was expecting to be thinking, "well Rudd's made some significant blunders, but unless he declares war on the rest of the world, we're still in front of the previous trainwreck". On the contrary, I think he's nailed the job to date, as reflected in the astounding approval ratings he is achieving, even for a honeymoon period. As examples, Kyoto was ratified and the importance of climate change properly recognised, an initial state/federal consensus was achieved on water and health, and lately, his Kontiki tour (which sadly lacked lap dancers), recast Australia as something more than America's bumboy. On the latter, I have one caveat.
There's little doubt that Rudd's status as "dag of the century" (nay millenium) will not be under threat any time soon. I mean, he goes straight past tea and scones, and resides somewhere between Enid Blyton's "lashings of ginger beer" and iced vo-vos. The nerdy mock salute was a cringe, but if a dweeby greeting is people's greatest concern, I think there is a bit of a priority problem. Dweebs do these things from time to time. The cut and thrust of his trip was right on the money.
In the US, he reiterated that the alliance was rock solid, whilst also restating Australia's position on the war in Iraq. Given that Obama is the most likely next president, the positions serves more to align than alienate. Its 10 minutes to midnight for GW, and what he thinks of Rudd or Australia matters little. Incidentally, George should be feeling pretty good about his upcoming lot, due to the fact that when midnight arrives, he'll turn back into a pumpkin, and double his intellectual capacity.
In England, Rudd raised the republic issue, stating that it was still on the agenda, but not the highest priority. Tick.
In Afghanistan, he told the Musharraf to pull his finger out, without any diplomatic fallout. Tick.
At the UN, he argued for a seat at the table. Tick.
I think the real coup, however, was China. To be able to put forward the opinion of the vast majority of Australians on human rights, and at the same time progress trade relations and discuss cimate change shouldn't be under-rated. While some may think that Australia should "learn its place", I feel it is important to elucidate a country's position on issues, regardless of its size. It all adds to the pool. Further, I have no doubt China will continue to buy our resources and sell us plastic toys. That said, Rudd himself has warned against overstating the significance of his comments and discussions.
"I don't intend to overstate what I can do or we can do, I believe in being helpful at the margins where we can.
"I've described before the need for a creative middle power diplomacy that means nudging international agendas forward, helping where you can, whether it's on climate change, whether it's on global free trade negotiations or the current difficult situation with China in relation to Tibet."
"I wouldn't overstate the significance of what I have done here," he told Macquarie Radio by phone from Beijing.
"I've just executed my responsibility as prime minister of Australia," he said, saying the prime minister's job was "not to pretend there aren't problems when some of them exist, and simply to put them as best and as effectively as I can".
Alan Ramsey from the SMH puts it well:
Kevin Rudd confronted China this week. Brendan Nelson confronted Mike Carlton. Our visiting Prime Minister, very deliberately, delivered an unwanted truth on Tibetan human rights to the world's most populous nation. Our new Opposition Leader delivered radio 2UE's Sydney listeners some homely advice from his mum on the need to "always be neatly presented". You might think the comparison a cheap shot. You would be wrong.
To publicly stand up to the Chinese, in their own capital, in their own language, on an issue so sensitive to the planet's last great totalitarian state - and, since May last year, Australia's biggest (in dollars) trading partner - is something no visiting head of government, of any kind, has ever done, let alone one from this country. To say it took courage and no little risk only parrots the obvious. What it took was leadership of the most dramatic kind.
In recent years, we have been force-fed national leadership, wrapped in the flag, that gloried in sticking its head up the backside of Washington and its dependent satellite in the Middle East. To have an Australian prime minister behave as Rudd has done in Beijing is to think that maybe he is different after all and not just another political control freak with a brain as big as his smile. The bloke is worth watching.