Last night’s WIN news had Our Brave Leader announcing how much he’s enjoying his time as Chief Minister and suggesting he’d quite like to keep doing the job for a very long time.
It then had astonishing video of the ACT ALP branch secretary Bill Redpath suggesting that the party was not yet locked into the idea of another Stanhope lead campaign.
The Liberals’ Brendan Smyth has leapt onto this like a fat child on a donut, bringing us Redpath’s curious quote:
“We heard Mr Stanhope say he will stick around to the next election and the one after that. But over recent months we have seen a growing number of fractures between the lay Labor party and the Chief Minister, confrontations with the Greens and obvious conflict with his caucus colleagues,” Mr Smyth said.
“In fact, when it was put to the ACT ALP branch secretary Bill Redpath that Mr Stanhope intended to stay as the Chief Minister well past the next election, Mr Redpath said:
- ‘That’s a long way down the track and we’ll have to discuss it ’ (WIN News 5/5/09)
“Even the ACT Branch Secretary is qualifying Mr Stanhope’s position as Chief Minister.
…
“We have also seen ruptures within caucus with obvious hostilities between the right and left factions of the party. With Ms Gallagher the anointed successor, the other agitated members of the Labor right realise their opportunity to climb the political ladder over the top of their colleagues may be lost.
Perhaps with this weighing on his mind the Chiefly one has this morning announced he’s pushing for a park “in Bonython West in-between Pine Island Road and Don Dunstan Drive to be named after the late Trevor Kaine, former Liberal Chief Minister. It’s to be called “Trevor Kaine Community Park”.
(Trevor might not be thrilled to be wedged in with Don Dunstan)
If a short term minority Chief Minister can warrant a park then surely something much grander will be required for a mighty titan of successive terms and a majority government?
An arboretum perhaps?