Vaile's search for a scapegoat

Update: Mark Vaile has been nominated for the Dead Parrots Society Hall of Fame.

Mark Vaile has been the weakest link in the Coalition team this year. Doesn't seem to have recovered from the AWB scandal. This is despite giving up the Trade portfolio so that he could nurse the Nationals at home. Babysitting Barnaby Joyce seems to have been a full time job as we have seen this week with Joyce's support of Labor's proposed IR changes. Too busy to keep any sort of profile as Deputy Prime Minister. I bet a poll of electors would find they think Costello holds that job.

Anyway, he's worked out what the problem is, why they're losing the campaign:

Federal Nationals leader Mark Vaile says he would have liked the business community to have done more to support the Coalition's industrial relations laws during the election campaign. Business didn't back WorkChoices enough: Vaile (ABC News, 21 November 2007)

I'm sure Howard would have liked Mark Vaile to have done more all round. More of the blame game next week if the polls are to be believed.

Original Post at: Labor View from Broome

End of Empire

If you don’t watch the Insiders on Sunday mornings you missed a classic this week. John Howard’s strongest media supporter, Andrew Bolt described the current situation for the PM as having an “end of empire” feel to it. This followed an interview with independent MHRs Bob Katter and Tony Windsor who dumped on the coalition mercilessly. Both see Work Choices as a key blunder by the government. Katter believes that mining workers will desert them in droves and Windsor believes that it is a sleeper (where has he been lately). If this is half true then Sharon Thiel has a much better chance of retiring Barry Haase in Kalgoorlie than the 6.3 % margin would indicate.

Asked whom they would support if it was a hung parliament and they held the balance of power, Katter put promoting ethanol as his highest priority, while Windsor nominated opposition to nuclear power amongst his electorate as very important. A new green alliance between the independents!

At times it seems that the Deputy Prime Minister has taken advice after the AWB Iraq scandal to lie low too literally. The invisible man, Mark Vaile, should have stayed missing in action this morning:

Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile has denied that a delay in calling the federal election makes it look like John Howard is afraid to face the voters.
Howard not afraid of electorate: Vaile (ABC, 30 September 2007)

Apparently, football takes precedence. Only the Melbourne Cup is likely to present any equine sporting reason for further delays thanks to fellow National Peter McGauran’s quarantine vigilance. AWB and the flu outbreak show that no care and no responsibility are the order of the day in the coalition.

Original post at: Labor View from Broome