Where the Power Lies

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4674208.html

"The Australian put Abbott on notice "

"The Australian also served notice that it did not like Abbott's paid parental leave scheme"

"The Australian won"

We live in this pseudo-democracy where vested interests and power clubs rob society of the common good. No clearer example can be found than the influence described here, exerted by a monopoly controlled by a multibillionaire, octogenarian, citizen of a foreign country.

Beware of your verbiage Mr. Grasshopper. Your meaning is becoming opaque.

The flagship, one and only, national printed news carrier (ie a monopoly in this category), wholly owned by Rupert Murdoch, an octogenarian plutocrat who cynically shafted this country by adopting US citizenship solely to legally remain in control of his US assets, essentially forces the leader of one of the two major political parties to change one of its key policies to its own, or perhaps we may assume, its owner's whimsical liking. 

In an enlightened democracy the only principle that should ever guide policy-making is the common good. Policies which increase the common good should always be developed and adopted. Strong leaders pursue such policies in the face of pressures such as those described above and cop all the flack and negativity, and don't forget the scare-mongering, but in the end implement the policy, and either are rewarded for it with electoral longevity, or are not. 

So who is the strong leader here, who imposes good policy that increases the common good in the face of curtailed electoral longevity. Abbott is being tested on this issue, without even being in power (watch out for the expected back-flip). Gillard, on the other hand, has consistently implemented such policy, and faces electoral Armageddon in reply.