Angry Anderson wants to ditch his nickname and
enter politics as plain old Gary. He shouldn't. We’re already burdened with one
watered-down rock star in parliament; we don't need another. Anderson needs to
remain angry. Angry about the ‘clean energy legislation’ that he and many like
him abhor, angry about the profligacy of this government, angry about the
slippery deals done to hold onto power and angry about Labor’s disdain for the
values of blue collar workers who once, like Mr Anderson himself, were rusted
on supporters.
The idea of Angry Anderson, if not in fact the
diminutive rocker himself, poses the single biggest threat to the Labor Party
since John Howard decided to perform triple bypass surgery on his Lazarus
persona. That a rebellious, dope smoking, son of migrants, hardcore lefty and
hero of the underclasses like the former Rose Tattoo lead singer should find
himself drawn to the National Party should have Gillard, Rudd, and Swan
trembling in their boots. Because if he no longer identifies with, or can even
stomach, the incumbent Labor government, it shows to what extent the once-proud
party of the working classes has sold them out.
While the likes of Richo, Carr and Faulkner
attempt to yell futile advice from the mosh pit - seeking in the process to
avoid admitting their own guilt in destroying what Labor once stood for - those
on centre-stage seem to have no idea how to get back to their roots and speak
to their erstwhile fans.
So instead they will ramp up the spending, pile
on the PR experts, flout the rules of government advertising and try every trick
in the book to convince the true believers that they are worthy of an encore.
There are plenty of reasons for Gary to stay
angry.
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