Source: Yahoo!
Which wasn't so great, as it all turned out. :)
Each time there is a Federal Election those of us who are political tragics look to events such as the Leaders Debate as something to sink our teeth into. Normally these are a chance to see the leader and possible leader test their mettle when under the fire of not only their opponent, but also the cream of the journalistic crop. It is a chance for the average Australian out there to cut through all of the usual media spin, to hear direct from the leaders what their thoughts are on the burning questions of the campaign.
Which is why it is such a shame that tonight's debate was a complete waste of time, whether you are a political tragic such as myself, or just Joe Blogs out there, for whom politics is a "once every 3 year annoyance" which forces you to remember to do something on a Saturday morning in your local school hall or church.
The reason this year's debate was such a waste of time was simply because it reflects what is fast becoming apparent in this year's Federal Election - everything is just so scripted. Both Gillard and Abbott barely wavered from their usual set of talking points, and only one real moment of direct exchange occurring between the leaders (excluding the customary end-of-debate handshake) throughout the entire evening.
Clearly, gone are the days of the John Hewson / Paul Keating debate of 1993, where the leaders actually were able to get stuck into each other and really provide some definite interest.
The Worm made its return this year, and even it was quite predictable - despite the new feature of offering male and female worms. The little girl went up when Julia spoke (and down when Abbott spoke), while the little guy seemed to go up whenever Abbott spoke. So no real news there, or excitement generated.
About the only interesting element were some of the questions being asked by the very select panel of journos present, with the ABC's Chris Uhlmann offering what were some of the best questions on the night. Sadly, neither leader seemed prepared to deviate from their broad campaign talking points and themes. The end result was answers that either avoided the question entirely, or twisted the question in such a way that allowed the leader to return to their heavily scripted responses from basically any presser they've given thus far.
In short, I am kind of glad there will only be the one debate this year, because if the campaign thus far is any indication, the 2010 Federal Election is turning out to be quite the fizzer. Although I do have to ask a simple question - where was Bob Brown tonight? If the British General Election can feature a debate between the top three leaders, why can't we manage it here? At least if Bob Brown from the Greens had been involved, things might have been a little bit more interesting, to say the least.
You know you're in trouble when the most interesting person out there at present is the leader of the third biggest political party, and one that is pretty far left-of-centre...
Let's hope the campaign improves from this point onwards, otherwise most of Australia will be sleep-walking their way towards August 21. Unless that is what the major political parties want, I guess...